Substitute Rodrigo Muniz scored a dramatic 95th-minute winner as Fulham registered their first league win at Stamford Bridge since October 1979 with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea.
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Marco Silva’s late changes paid off in spectacular fashion on Boxing Day, with Muniz and Harry Wilson both coming off the bench to engineer an impressive turnaround win.
Wales international Wilson levelled with a close-range header in the 82nd minute before Muniz secured the points, his cool finish into the bottom corner deep into stoppage time giving Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez no chance.
Before Fulham's late double it had looked like Cole Palmer’s outstanding solo effort in the 16th minute was going to be enough, but Chelsea instead suffered their first league defeat since 20 October, and only their third of the season so far.
Enzo Maresca's side missed the chance to move within one point of leaders Liverpool, and now trail Arne Slot’s men by seven points following their 3-1 win against Leicester City on Boxing Day.
Fulham, meanwhile, move up to eighth, just one point behind Newcastle United in fifth as part of a keenly contested top half of the table.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
17 | +23 | 42 |
| 2 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
18 | +17 | 35 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
18 | +5 | 34 |
| 4 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
17 | +18 | 33 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
18 | +9 | 29 |
How the match unfolded
Palmer opened up the game out of nowhere in the early stages, spinning away from two Fulham players before nonchalantly dispatching a finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Fulham fought back as Raul Jimenez burst down the right before dragging an effort wide, while Calvin Bassey drove down the opposite flank, but Robert Sanchez held his shot.
Marc Cucurella should have doubled Chelsea’s lead after 35 minutes when he peeled away at the far post on a free-kick, but his diving header was straight at Bernd Leno.
The Fulham goalkeeper superbly denied Enzo Fernandez with a fingertip save shortly after the break, and although Levi Colwill nodded in from the edge of the six-yard box on the resulting corner, he had strayed offside.
Having sent a looping shot wide shortly after his introduction, substitute Wilson made no mistake with his next opportunity, losing his marker to nod in at the far post after Timothy Castagne had headed across the face of goal.
The six minutes of additional time were almost over when Muniz was found by Sasa Lukic and then guided his shot into the bottom-left corner to send the away fans into raptures.
Palmer’s brilliance not enough
Chelsea missed the chance to go temporarily top of the Premier League last weekend after their 0-0 draw at Everton, and the Blues have lost further ground on Liverpool with their first loss since their trip to Anfield two months ago.
It looked like they were set to return to winning ways, especially in the first half with Palmer leading from the front. Chelsea had barely had a sniff before his goal, but the England international simply shrugged off Andreas Pereira and Lukic with a clever turn before picking out the bottom corner with a brilliant shot that resembled a pass.
Palmer was a constant threat for Chelsea before the break and arguably could have doubled his tally on the stroke of half-time after being slid in by Fernandez, but Bassey took it off his toe with an exceptional block.
However, Chelsea failed to get him in the game as much in the second half and Fulham upped the pressure. Palmer still had his moments - his brilliant cross set up Colwill for the disallowed goal - but his influence diminished.
With their main threat more subdued, Chelsea's pressure started to show. After Wilson’s goal, the hosts committed too many bodies forward in search of a winner and Muniz profited from the space to dampen the festive mood at Stamford Bridge.
Maresca will be eyeing a swift response at Ipswich Town on Monday.
The perfect present
Fulham would now have the top four in their sights had they not dropped points against Southampton before Christmas, but their European hopes are very much alive after another late show.
Given their track record, a trip to Stamford Bridge - where Fulham had never won in the Premier League - would not have had many away fans hopeful of enjoying some festive cheer, and it looked like that poor run would continue to haunt them.
Silva’s men started well in the opening 15 minutes, especially after changing shape to a back five, and they would have felt unlucky to be undone by individual brilliance from Palmer.
They responded well, with Jimenez and Bassey both unlucky not to get on the scoresheet in the first half, and Fulham stayed brave throughout the contest, unwilling to let up on Chelsea’s backline no matter what.
The second half was theirs, but it was the manager’s changes which kicked the game into a new gear.
Sanchez had initially proved his worth for Chelsea with some key stops, but he was helpless against Wilson and Muniz’s late goals and Silva will be keen to kick on from another impressive away day against AFC Bournemouth next time out.
Club reports
Chelsea report | Fulham report
What the managers said
Enzo Maresca: "To concede the goal we conceded at the end, it is a bad feeling. I said many times when you can't win it's important you don't lose. The first 15 minutes of the second half was the point I didn't like - we conceded so many transitions. We know they are a team building from transitions. First half we controlled that very good, second half we gave them too much energy.
"The reality: we can see there are many things we can do better. For sure tonight one of the things is game management. But also I think we did many good things. I didn't see the players with pressure [of a title race]."
Marco Silva: "From the beginning of December, our unbeaten run keeps going. Our speech before the game was about breaking this record [at Stamford Bridge]. We wanted to give this happiness to our fans on Boxing Day, a special day, and for the next few days them to have this feeling.
"We were without four or five players. We tried to do something different. But we showed we have been growing. The group is responding really well, the players from the bench made another big impact. Our fans deserve the feeling they have right now. This result is not going to change our ambitions."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Chelsea have lost three of their last four Premier League matches on Boxing Day (W1), more defeats than in their previous 22 such games (W12 D8 L2).
Muniz’s 95th minute strike for Fulham (94:15) was the latest winning goal against Chelsea in the Premier League since Pedro Neto did so for Wolverhampton Wanderers in December 2020 (94:42), while it was first the time Chelsea have conceded a 90th-minute winner at home in the competition since February 2003 (David Dunn for Blackburn Rovers).
Palmer netted his 26th Premier League goal in 2024, the most ever scored by a Chelsea player in a calendar year in the competition.
All four of Wilson’s Premier League goals for Fulham this season have been as a substitute, indeed no player has more sub goals in 2024/25 (Jhon Duran also four), while eight of Wilson's last 11 goals in the competition have either put his side ahead (five) or levelled the match (three).
