Fulham 0-2 Chelsea: Mudryk & Broja seal west London bragging rights as Blues momentum grows

Chelsea claimed their second Premier League win of the season on Monday night as they claimed a 2-0 victory over Fulham in the west London derby.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side managed to convert their dominance into goals to land two first half goals and keep a clean sheet to inflict defeat on their city neighbours.

Mykhailo Mudryk opened his Chelsea account with a finish close range inside 18 minutes, before Armando Broja netted less than a minute later to double the lead in the first half.

Armando Broja’s blushes were spared on his return to the starting XI in the opening two minutes. He rounded Bernd Leno but could only blaze over from yards out, however the offside flag was, fortunately for Broja, raised.

Chelsea made a bright start to the west London derby. Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher all linking up well.

Pochettino’s side finally got their deserved opener through Mykhailo Mudryk on the 18th minute mark. Mudryk took Levi Colwill’s ball down and he cooly slotted past Leno into the back of the net.

Chelsea doubled their lead 82 seconds later through Broja. A Tim Ream mistake was punished as Broja put past Leno from Palmer’s short pass to give the Blues some breathing space in the capital.

The visitors were in confident spirit as they headed into the break with a two-goal advantage, on course to claim just their second win in the Premier League this season.

Pochettino was forced into a half-time change. Mudryk, who netted the opener, was forced off and replaced by Ian Maatsen at the interval.

Chelsea thought Fulham should’ve been reduced to 10 men just before the hour mark when Carlos Vinicius escaped dismissal by whacking Thiago Silva.

Substitute Maatsen almost extended the advantage in the 63rd minute when his effort came crashing back off the woodwork. It fell into the feet of Enzo but Leno was quick to make himself big and thwart the danger.

Broja’s evening lasted 64 minutes. A successful return to the starting XI for the Albanian following his ACL injury. A goal to ease some of the pressure ended a positive night for the forward.

Fulham continued to pile on the pressure in search of a way back into the affair. Robert Sanchez was called into action to make a huge save to keep Chelsea’s two-goal lead in tact with 13 minutes to deny Saša Lukić from yards out.

It wasn’t the finest of Chelsea performances in the second half. But unlike in other games, Pochettino’s side managed to hold on for victory and all three points to climb up the table to 11th ahead of Fulham.

Next up for the Blues is an away trip up north to face Vincent Kompany’s Burnley on Saturday. Two wins on the trot for Chelsea in all competitions, the momentum is beginning to grow.