Premier League 2023-24, Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0: Key stats
Chelsea broke the jinx to outclass Fulham 2-0 away from home on matchday seven of the 2023-24 Premier League. Two first-half strikes from Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were enough for the Blues to earn their second league win this season. Notably, this is also their first away win in the current Premier League season. Both teams won their mid-week EFL Cup matches.
Fulham script this unwanted record in Premier League London derbies
With this defeat, Fulham are now winless in their last 10 Premier League London derbies (D4, L6). Their last win in a London derby in the Premier League came against Chelsea (2-1) back in January. This is their fourth derby of 2023-24 and they have lost the first at home against Brentford (0-3) and drawn against Arsenal (2-2) and Crystal Palace (0-0).
Mudryk becomes the seventh Ukrainian to score in Premier League
Mudryk handed Chelsea the lead in the 18th minute of the game. As per Squawka, Mudryk became only the seventh Ukrainian player to score a goal in the Premier League. Serhiy Rebrov, Andriy Shevchenko, Andriy Yarmolenko, Andrey Voronin, Vitaliy Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko are the six Ukranians to score in the Premier League. He scored his first goal for Chelsea in 24 matches.
First Ukrainian to score for Chelsea since Shevchenko
As per Opta, Mudryk became the first Ukrainian player to score for Chelsea in all competitions since Shevchenko netted one against Bolton Wanderers in May 2008. Mudryk scored with his 22nd attempt on goal for the Blues.
Chelsea end their dreadful barren run
Chelsea went without scoring in their last three Premier League fixtures before this game. As per Opta, the Blues failed to score in their previous 47 attempts on goal in the Premier League before Mudryk netted their opener against Fulham. However, they only had to wait 82 seconds for their next goal as Broja slammed home the second.
How did the game pan out?
Broja almost handed Chelsea the dream start when he went around Bernd Leno but squandered his shot wide. However, the Blues kept pushing and they were rewarded as Mudryk netted the opener from a beautiful Levi Colwill cross. A minute later, Borja capitalizes on Tim Ream's mistake and doubles the lead. Both teams had several chances in the second half but Chelsea held on.
A look at the match stats
Chelsea had 11 attempts on the night in comparison to Fulham's 10 while the visitors struck four of them on target. Fulham had 56% possession and amassed 550 passes to Chelsea's 448 passes. The hosts clocked 87% passing accuracy. The Cottagers won eight corners.
Chelsea won their 150th London derby in the Premier League
As per Opta, this was Chelsea's 150th London derby win in the Premier League as they only became the second team to achieve that feat. Arsenal with 151 wins are the only team from the capital ahead of the Blues. Chelsea were winless in their last six London derbies in the Premier League while they lost their last four (D2).
Chelsea climb to 11th position; Fulham drop to 13th position
Chelsea's second win in the Premier League this season has helped them get up to the 11th position with eight points in their kitty. Fulham, also with eight points are 13th in the standings due to an inferior goal difference. Manchester City continue to top the standings with 18 points after seven games. Meanwhile, Tottenham and Arsenal with 17 points each are chasing them.