Late goals from teenager Tyrique George and Pedro Neto gave Chelsea a dramatic derby win at Fulham to boost the Blues’ hopes of Champions League football next season.
Having failed to win in their previous eight Premier League away trips, Chelsea’s travel woes seemed set to continue when Alex Iwobi fired Fulham into a first-half lead.
The hosts held that advantage for more than an hour but 19-year-old George came off the bench to score his first league goal with a fine first-time strike from the edge of the area.
And, in virtually a carbon copy of December’s thrilling finale at Stamford Bridge, when Fulham scored twice late on to snatch a 2-1 win, it was the Blues’ turn to complete a stirring comeback in stoppage time.
Neto spun on a sixpence in the Fulham area to hit an unstoppable half-volley that flew past Cottagers keeper Bernd Leno and spark wild celebrations among the travelling support.
The win lifts Chelsea back into the Champions League qualification places in fifth on goal difference from Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, while Fulham remain ninth as their own dreams of securing European football suffered a shattering blow.
Anything you can do…
Much has been made in recent weeks of Chelsea’s slump in form domestically and one could argue it dates back to that reverse fixture on 26 December.
That Fulham snatch-and-grab win ended Chelsea’s 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions at a time when Enzo Maresca’s side sat second in the Premier League table.
Since then, Chelsea’s solid – if unspectacular – home results, taking 17 points from a possible 21 at Stamford Bridge, have kept them in with a sniff of a top-five spot but their away form has dipped badly.
So it was somewhat ironic that they reinvigorated their Champions League chances by gaining revenge with an almost identical turnaround at Craven Cottage.
On the balance of play, it was little more than their efforts merited, having thoroughly dominated proceedings after Iwobi’s opener.
Not for the first time in recent weeks, it appeared their lack of thrust in the final third would cost them as, up until Chelsea’s equaliser, Leno had only really been worked significantly once, saving well with his legs from Neto.
However, academy product George, a Conference League regular this season but making just a sixth Premier League appearance, all off the bench, struck with seven minutes to go – just a minute later than Harry Wilson’s Fulham leveller in December.
And the echoes of that game continued as, just like Rodrigo Muniz popped up with a stoppage-time winner then, Neto did the same for Chelsea with a wonderful strike three minutes into time added on.
More derby despair for Cottagers
Alex Iwobi scored for the second successive home game, having also netted in the 3-2 win over Liverpool earlier in April
