Mykhailo Mudryk nets first goal for Chelsea in win over local rivals Fulham

Chelsea picked up just their second Premier League win of the season on Monday night after they put aside local rivals Fulham 2-0 at Craven Cottage. This win puts them at 11thplace in the league table.

Mykhailo Mudryk gave Chelsea the lead in the 18th minute after being set up by Levi Colwill, in what was his first goal in a Chelsea shirt since his lucrative £89 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January of this year. Mudryk has struggled since his big arrival, coinciding with Chelsea's poor form in 2023, but this goal should give him the confidence to kickstart his season.

Just a minute after the Ukrainian winger's opener, Cole Palmer set up Armando Broja to double Chelsea's lead and give them a 2-0 lead going into half-time. This was Broja's first goal since he suffered a serious knee injury last December.

The Albanian striker then came off mid-way in the second half against Fulham after he pulled up and felt some discomfort, but it is not thought to be a serious problem.

Mudryk's night was also cut short as he was substituted at the break after picking up a slight injury, but that is also not expected to be seriously damaging. Mudryk's replacement, Ian Maatsen, came very close to extending Chelsea's lead in the second half as he had an effort which cannoned off of the post.

Another injury scare in the game for Chelsea came in the last few minutes of stoppage time as new big summer signing Moises Caicedo was substituted off after a collision with former Chelsea player, Willian. Caicedo left the ground with a protective strap on his knee but it is believed to be just a bruising and nothing of real concern for the Blues moving forward.

Mauricio Pochettino's men did not add to their first-half lead but saw the rest of the game out with a clean sheet and ran out 2-0 winners. This was just the sixth Premier League victory that Chelsea have had in 2023 and is a much-needed win with the team having seriously underperformed in recent months.

After the victory, Pochettino spoke to Sky Sports where he praised his team for their performance. He said: "It's important for us to build our confidence and trust in ourselves. The performance was very good, I'm so happy for the players and in the end, we got what we deserved."

Pochettino then touched on Mudryk's goal and the Ukrainian's injury status, stating: "It's very important for offence players to score a goal. He was doing well. He was unlucky at half-time, he felt something in his quad but hopefully, it's not a big issue and he will be ready for the weekend."

Chelsea will next be in action on Saturday afternoon when they take on a winless Burnley away from home, in what should be a favourable game for Pochettino's men due to Burnley's uninspiring form in their return to the Premier League this season.

Pochettino still has issues with selection as Chelsea have numerous players injured at the moment such as club captain, Reece James, Wesley Fofana and new signings Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku.

Also, it was announced on Tuesday that first-choice left-back and club vice-captain, Ben Chilwell, is set to be out for two months after he suffered a hamstring injury in last week's Carabao Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Chelsea's other right-back, Malo Gusto, will not be available for Saturday's game against Burnley as he will serve the final game of his three-match suspension, which he received after being sent off in the Blues' Premier League defeat against Aston Villa recently.

However, striker Nicolas Jackson is set to be available to Pochettino again, as he served his one-match suspension during Monday's win over Fulham, which came after accumulating five Premier League bookings.