We had settled well at the home of our west London neighbours and come close to breaking the deadlock. But when Cucurella was adjudged to have denied Harry Wilson a clear goalscoring opportunity, we faced more than 65 minutes with a man disadvantage.

It wasn't until the second period that Fulham were able to break through: Raul Jimenez powered a header beyond Robert Sanchez. Yet Chelsea battled back and dragged ourselves level when Delap converted from close range after Fulham failed to deal with a corner.

Momentum appeared with the Blues. However, with nine minutes to play, Wilson drove a shot goalward that deflected off Reece James, ended in the corner, and meant we left with nothing to show for our efforts.

Starting strongly

Six changes were made to the Blues side, overseen by Under-21s boss Calum McFarlane. New Blues head coach Liam Rosenior watched on from the stands.

Sanchez and Cucurella returned from minor injuries, Tosin Adarabioyo was brought into the defence, Moises Caicedo was back after suspension, Andrey Santos came in after an impressive substitute appearance at Man City and Delap spearheaded the attack.

It was the hosts who had the opening effort on goal during a freezing night on the banks of the Thames. Wilson manufactured room to shoot inside our penalty area but Sanchez saved his attempt.

Our first opportunity came via an Enzo Fernandez corner. The Argentine swung the ball toward the near-post and, under pressure from Delap, Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno pawed it away just before it crossed the line.

Another Fernandez corner almost led to our opener. On this occasion, he delivered his cross to the back post and Andrey Santos guided the ball against the crossbar. Caicedo's follow-up was smuggled off the line. It was a let-off for the hosts.

Momentum shifts

Pressure on the Fulham goal was building – and we had another corner guided behind by Trevoh Chalobah. From the goal kick that followed, momentum swung Fulham's way.

As the Chelsea players were retreating, Leno fired a pass into the Blues' half. Wilson and Cucurella chased after it and, under pressure from the Spaniard, the Fulham midfielder went down. Referee Peter Bankes awarded a free-kick and Cucurella was dismissed. Just 22 minutes were on the clock.

McFarlane responded by replacing Andrey Santos with Jorrel Hato. It was a change that ensured the Blues remained compact and Fulham struggled to fashion many opportunities.

As half time approached, we had one of our own as good work from Delap and Fernandez enabled Palmer to measure an attempt from distance that Leno saved. Emile Smith-Rowe then whistled a shot of his own narrowly over.

Six minutes were added at the end of the half. In the fourth of those, Fulham had the ball in the net via a neat finish from Wilson. However, following a VAR review, the goal was ruled out due to Jimenez being offside in the build-up. The game was goalless at the break.

Work to do

The two sides exchanged shots early in the second 45 minutes. Pedro Neto fired high and wide for the Blues before a deflected effort from Wilson drifted narrowly wide of Sanchez's post.

Our corners continued to pose Fulham a threat and a Fernandez near-post delivery was glanced over by Hato. It was a good chance for the ten-man Blues.

Unfortunately, the missed opportunity was compounded moments later as Fulham opened the scoring. Berge was given time to measure a cross, which Jimenez headed powerfully beyond Sanchez and into the bottom corner.

The decibel level rose inside Craven Cottage and the hosts' players responded; Brazilian winger Kevin thundered a 20-yard shot inches wide of Sanchez's post.

Building pressure

We maintained a threat despite our man advantage and, just after the hour mark, we came close to levelling. Tosin played a pass to Palmer, who intelligently stepped over the ball and enabled Delap to break through on goal. One-on-one with Leno, the Blues striker tried to lift his shot over the German stopper but he saved well.

James was introduced soon after and we started to build pressure on the Fulham goal. Caicedo fizzed a low drive at Leno before the Fulham goalkeeper had to turn a Palmer cross behind. From the resulting corner, we levelled.

Neto clipped his delivery into the six-yard box and Antonee Robinson flicked the ball across goal and onto the post. The rebound fell to Delap, who guided his left-footed shot home from close range.

Another twist

McFarlane introduced Josh Acheampong and Joao Pedro. Malo Gusto and Cole Palmer were replaced. The ambition, despite our man advantage, was to find a winner.

Unfortunately, it was Fulham who struck the next goal. A clearance dropped to Wilson on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area and his shot deflected off James and flew into the bottom corner. Nine minutes remained.

The Blues didn't relent. We worked hard to try to fashion another equaliser, but Marco Silva shored up his defence and midfield through substitutions and Fulham were able to keep us at bay to claim all three points.

What comes next...

Rosenior will get to work with his squad at Cobham tomorrow ahead of our FA Cup third round tie against Charlton Athletic.

The teams

Fulham: Leno; Castagne, Diop, Andersen, Cuenca (Kevin 46), Robinson; Berge, Cairney (Lukic 73); Smith-Rowe (Reed 83), Jimenez, Wilson (90+1)
Fulham substitutes: Lecomte, Amissah, Sessegnon, Ridgeon, Kusi-Asare
Goalscorers: Jimenez 55, Wilson 81
Booked: Cuenca 45+6, Castagne 78, Jimenez 90

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto (Acheampong 75), Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella; Andrey Santos (Hato 28), Caicedo; Neto, Fernandez (James 65), Palmer (Joao Pedro 75); Delap
Chelsea substitutes: Jorgensen, Fofana, Estevao, Garnacho, Gittens
Goalscorers: Delap 72
Booked: Tosin 24, Fernandez 24, Palmer 25
Sent off: Cucurella 22

Attendance: 26,990