Arbeloa rues Fulham’s costly timing of goals as Chelsea edge five-goal thriller

Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa said his side were punished for conceding at the worst possible moments in their 3-2 defeat by Chelsea in the opening round of the Premier League, although he praised the character shown by his players.

Fulham fell behind after just 31 seconds when Joao Pedro scored the fastest goal in the history of the Premier League’s opening round. Chelsea went on to add further goals through Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer, while Joshua King and Gonzalo Garcia scored for Fulham.

“We concede a goal in the first minute, at the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second half. There are no worse times to concede goals,” Arbeloa told the BBC.

Chelsea’s second goal came at the end of the first half, while their third arrived shortly after the interval, leaving Fulham with a difficult task. Arbeloa felt his team showed enough resilience to have taken more from the match, but admitted that their defensive errors ultimately proved decisive.

“However, we showed character and a strong spirit, and I am very proud of the way my players responded,” he said. “We deserved a little more, but football is not about what you deserve, it is about what you achieve.”

Arbeloa also criticised the manner in which Chelsea were allowed to score, insisting Fulham must improve their focus from the opening whistle.

“If you lose against a team like Chelsea, they have to make you work harder,” he added. “For me, the goals Chelsea scored were easy, and they were mistakes we cannot make. We need to improve, and we have to be more focused and prepared from the first minute. That is certain.”

Joao Pedro was central to Chelsea’s victory, scoring one goal and creating another. His strike after 31 seconds made it the quickest goal ever scored in the opening round of the Premier League.

Rogers also marked his league debut for Chelsea with a record-breaking performance. He became the first Chelsea player since the 2003-04 season to register at least three shots and create at least three chances in the first half of his Premier League debut for the club.

He created five chances in total, making him the first Chelsea player in the club’s history to reach that figure in his opening Premier League appearance, dating back to the 2003-04 campaign.

Chelsea also named the youngest starting line-up among all Premier League clubs in the opening round this season, with an average age of 24 years and 43 days.

Despite the result, Arbeloa singled out King for particular praise after the Fulham forward scored one of his side’s goals.

“Joshua King is amazing in every sense of the word. What a player you have here,” Arbeloa said. “I am very happy with him.”

He also highlighted the contributions of Garcia and Cesar Palacios, while suggesting both players would benefit from more time to settle.

“Gonzalo Garcia scored, and Cesar Palacios put in a good performance,” he said. “I think they need more time, but they are doing a great job and are already making their mark.”

The result gave Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso victory over Arbeloa in their first match against one another as managers. Arbeloa had previously been Alonso’s assistant at Real Madrid, adding an extra connection to the meeting between the two coaches.