Fulham's winless start to the Premier League season continued with a 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace, a result that leaves them 19th in the table. New manager Álvaro Arbeloa saw his side take the lead twice at Craven Cottage only for Tyrick Mitchell's double and a Ben Chilwell winner to seal a damaging loss.
Fulham now sit on zero points from three matches, with a record of zero wins, zero draws, and three losses. They have scored four goals but conceded seven, giving them a goal difference of minus three. They are already nine points behind early leaders Manchester City.
Fulham controlled large portions of the match, enjoying almost 65% possession and registering 25 shots in total. Josh King put the hosts ahead, but Tyrick Mitchell equalised for Palace. King restored Fulham's advantage, only for Mitchell to score again. Ben Chilwell then completed the turnaround for the visitors late on. Despite the dominance, Fulham were punished for not taking their chances. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson made several important saves, including stops from Timothy Castagne and Chris Richards, but could not prevent the defeat.
Álvaro Arbeloa gave his reaction after the final whistle. "We lost a game that we didn’t deserve to lose," the Fulham manager said. "But in football you need to take your chances and they did that better than us."
The defeat compounds a difficult start for Fulham, who have now lost all three of their opening fixtures. Their recent form reads as three consecutive losses. This leaves them deep in the relegation zone early in the campaign, with a key away match against sixth-placed Liverpool next on the fixtures list on September 12th. The club's defensive record is a major concern, having let in seven goals already.
Josh King was the bright spot, scoring both of Fulham's goals to twice give them the lead. Alex Iwobi reached a personal milestone, becoming only the fifth player in Premier League history to play 100 or more games for three different clubs. Summer signing Shea Charles, a £30 million arrival from Southampton, was involved. Defender Gonzalo García missed a clear opportunity when he failed to connect with a volley after the ball had trickled over the line. Substitute Ryan Sessegnon found the sidenetting in injury time with a late chance.
The match was also watched by former manager Thomas Tuchel from the sidelines. Fulham are currently without midfielder Tom Cairney. The team will need to regroup quickly ahead of the trip to Anfield.
