— Mason Mount grabs late winner at 10-man Fulham
— Sam Allardyce gets first win in charge to boost survival hopes
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| Image: Fulham's Antonee Robinson (right) is shown a straight red card for a challenge on Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta (not pictured) during the Premier League match at Craven Cottage, London. |
Mason Mount's late strike gave Chelsea just a second Premier League win in seven games as they beat 10-man Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage to ease the pressure on boss Frank Lampard.
Both sides had chances in the first half as Mount struck the bar and Ivan Cavaleiro fluffed a clear opening for Fulham, but the game's complexion changed just before half-time when Antonee Robinson was dismissed for a high challenge on Cesar Azpilicueta (44).
Chelsea huffed and puffed in the second half, but were made to wait for the winner as man of the match Mount's controlled half volley found the net from inside the box after Alphonse Areola's weak punch clear from a cross (78).
Sub Timo Werner should have wrapped the win up late on, turning wide when through on goal, but the victory means Chelsea move up to seventh, seven points off leaders Manchester United, but having played a game more, while Fulham stay 18th, four points from safety.
Player ratings
Fulham: Areola (5), Tete (6), Aina (6), Andersen (6), Adarabioyo (7), Robinson (4), Reed (6), Anguissa (6), Dercordova-Reid (6), Lookman (7), Cavaleiro (6)
Subs: Abraham (6), Werner (5), Hudson-Odoi (5)
Chelsea: Mendy (5), Azpilicueta (6), Thiago Silva (7), Rudiger (7), Chilwell (6), Jorginho (6), Kovacic (6), Mount (8), Ziyech (6), Pulisic (5), Giroud (5)
Subs: Onomah (NA), Kamara (NA), Bryan (NA)
Man of the match: Mason Mount
The hosts arguably had the best chance of the first half as Robinson and Ademola Lookman combined well on the left; Robinson squared for Kenny Tete, who then squared for Cavaleiro, but he could not compose himself as he miscued an effort over the bar with just Edouard Mendy to beat from 10 yards.
Robinson and Lookman had been winning the battle with Azpilicueta until the closing stages of the first half, but that battle ended in earnest as the Fulham left-back piled in high on the Chelsea skipper, catching him high with his follow through to earn a straight red card.
Despite the numerical advantage, Chelsea struggled to find gaps in a Fulham defence, that had conceded just three goals in six games, for much of the second period.
Lampard altered his front line again in game - Tammy Abraham joined Giroud, but that experiment lasted only a few minutes as Timo Werner replaced Giroud - and Chelsea kept knocking on the door as Abraham could only head unmarked into Areola's hands, before Ziyech's delicious cross evaded Abraham and Pulisic.
Fulham did break in spurts, and Mendy nearly handed them an opener on a plate as he rushed out unnecessarily to receive Azpilicueta's back pass - he cleared weakly, but Cavaleiro saw his return shot blocked with Mendy out of his goal.
For all the chopping and changing in Chelsea's front line, it was Mount, a regular in the starting XI, who gave Lampard's side the breakthrough they had been desperate for.
After Ben Chilwell's left-wing cross was only punched away by Areola, Mount controlled a low half volley from 15 yards into the bottom corner, just his second Premier League goal of the season.
Chelsea have scored 11 goals in the final 15 minutes of Premier League games this season, more than any other side.
Opta stats
Chelsea's win ended a run of three straight Premier League defeats on the road. This was the Blues' fourth away clean sheet of the season, after keeping just one last term.
Chelsea had 21 shots against Fulham today, only managing more against other promoted sides West Brom (22) and Leeds (23) in Premier League games this season.
As well as scoring the winner, Mason Mount created seven chances in this game - the joint-most by a Chelsea player in a league game this season (Mount also 7 vs Leeds).
Wolves 2-3 West Brom:
Sam Allardyce secured his first win as West Brom boss as they breathed new life into their bid for Premier League survival with a 3-2 Black Country derby victory at Wolves.
Matheus Pereira (8) gave the visitors an early lead from the penalty spot after Willy Boly's foul on Callum Robinson, but Wolves hit back as two goals in five minutes from Fabio Silva (38) and Boly (43) to send them in at the break with the lead.
The topsy-turvy nature of the game didn't stop there as West Brom responded early in the second half through defender Semi Ajayi (52), before Pereira's second penalty of the afternoon - after Conor Coady brought down Robinson - sealed Allardyce's first win in charge of Albion.
Three points sees West Brom, who stay 19th, move onto 11 points, three adrift of safety. Meanwhile, Wolves' struggles continue. Nuno Espirito Santo's side are without a win in five league games and stay 14th.
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