Chelsea record signing Morgan Rogers scored on his debut while beating Fulham 3-2 to give new coach Xabi Alonso a perfect start to the Premier League season on Monday.
Rogers signed from Aston Villa last month and scored four minutes before halftime when he slotted home a sweet cutback from Maxence Lacroix. Both men managed Real Madrid for periods last season but moved to England after being relieved of their duties at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium and Alonso won out in an entertaining game at Craven Cottage. Fulham cut the deficit almost immediately — Gonzalo García heading down and into the net after Sanchez could only parry Timothy Castagne’s low shot — and it poured forward in search of a winner but it was not to be. “We know that if we reach them in a good position then they have this talent to create special things. The fixture matched Alonso against his former Real Madrid and Spain teammate Álvaro Arbeloa, who was also making his first appearance in the Fulham dugout. “This is how we’re going to play no matter who is in front of us.
“It is a great combination and great quality,” he said. “We deserved a little bit more but football is not about what you deserve, it’s about what you take,” a disappointed Arbeloa said, although he added he was pleased with his players’ attitude. Today I am happy that all three scored.
