Chelsea 2 Fulham 0
Blues uninspiring in climb to the top
By STEVE TONGUE
“We will give you happiness,” Jose Mourinho promised in his programme notes. He did not specify that it would be today, when there were too many periods of doubt and frustration for the home crowd, but from the worst start to a season in the Abramovich era - as well as a Champions' League home defeat by Basle in midweek - Chelsea now sit on top of the Premier League table; until this afternoon at least.
Although Fulham have just about the worst record of any club against their main local rivals - nine wins in 79 meetings now and one since 1979 - four of the last five League matches had been drawn before today and until Oscar's goal early in the second half they looked capable of achieving another. They did not, however, take their two good chances and were punished further by that collector's item, a goal by Jon Obi Mikel. It was his first in the League and only a third in almost 300 games, which sent many supporters home with a smile after all. Adding to their pleasure, their neighbours drop into the bottom three.
Afterwards Mourinho pointed to the League table in defence of his decision to leave Juan Mata not only out of the starting XI again but out of the squad. The manager has made it obvious that he regards the gifted Brazilian Oscar as first-choice for the creative playmaker's role just behind the main striker, one which he grew into today, improving during the second half as the rest of his team did. On Mata, Mourinho said: “He must work and adapt to a certain way of playing and has to learn to play the way I want - be more consistent and more participative when the team lose the ball.”
It was still significant that with less than half an hour gone, Oscar, Andre Schurrle - who had been ineffective as a centre forward away to Manchester United - and Eden Hazard had all done a shift in the central role with equally little success. Samuel Eto'o, in whom he has invested so much faith, played unimpressively in front of them and later made way for Fernando Torres, in whom Mourinho seems to have far less belief.
“The result was better than the result against Everton, but I think we played much better against Everton than we did today,” Mourinho added. “After a bad start that everybody kept telling me is the worst start for about a decade, I go to bed and look at the table nobody is in front of us.”
Four players did drop out after the loss to Basle - David Luiz and the midfield trio Willian, Marco van Ginkel and Frank Lampard. John Terry came in at the back and looked solid alongside Gary Cahill. They were caught out only once, when Darren Bent's pace should have given Fulham the lead. Pajtim Kasami, playing just behind him, sent a perfect pass between the two centre backs but the former England striker, just onside, allowed Petr Cech to save with his foot.
That was by far the best opportunity of the first half, David Stockdale in the visitors' goal being required to make no more than one save from the excellent Branislav Ivanovic, in between fielding crosses and corners.
Not surprisingly the away fans were by far the more satisfied come the interval, even chanting the name of their manager, who had been the subject of isolated calls for his head following last Saturday's draw at home to West Bromwich Albion. From the same end of the ground came taunts of “you're not special anymore” at Mourinho, who must surely have used equally harsh words to his team in the dressing-room.
Jol said: “At half-time we were really pleased, but in the second half they were more aggressive than us.” That aggression, a determination to win more balls, led to a goal seven minutes after the resumption when Stockdale could not hold shots from either Schurrle, cutting in from the left, or Eto'o, leaving Oscar with an easy task to put Chelsea ahead, as he had done against Basle.
Jol summoned the mercurial Adel Taarabt and there was an immediate reminder that the lead needed to last longer than the 25 minutes on Wednesday: Kasami flighted a free-kick beyond the far post, where Steve Sidwell headed weakly wide.
With seven minutes to play a header by Torres forced a fine save from Stockdale and from the resulting corner Terry headed down for Mikel to convert with an acrobatic effort for his first goal in any competition since January 2007.
Mourinho, meanwhile, has lived up to his promise to help English football by agreeing that his assistant Steve Holland should become the permanent coach to the Under-21 team under Gareth Southgate. Holland, who was briefly manager of Crewe, will stay at Chelsea, where on this evidence he still has plenty of work to do - top of the table or not.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Ramires, Mikel; Schürrle (Lampard, 80), Oscar, Hazard (De Bruyne, 85); Eto’o (Torres, 64).
Fulham (4-4-1-1): Stockdale; Riether, Hangeland, Amorebieta, Richardson; Duff (Taarabt, 64), Sidwell, Parker, Kacaniklic (Na Bangna, 72) Kasami (Rodallega, 85); Bent.
Man of the match Ivanovic.
Match rating 5/10.
Referee Andre Marriner.
=============
Observer:
Chelsea's Oscar and Mikel claim top spot with victory over Fulham
Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge
So the worst start to a campaign in the Roman Abramovich era has condemned Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table. José Mourinho did not entirely ooze satisfaction after this rather stop-start display against rivals from along the Fulham Road but, deep down, the pragmatist in him will have been relieved to have curtailed a four-match winless streak.
The process of change is continuing but this squad's adaptation may be more easily implemented if the mood is buoyant. The manager pointed out the performance at Goodison Park the previous weekend had been more fluent than that mustered here, even if Chelsea were beaten there but prevailed against Fulham. Yet he could still take satisfaction from a first goal in 185 Premier League games from Mikel John Obi and, more significantly, in the impression made by Oscar, the chosen No10 while Juan Mata stews on the sidelines waiting to prove he can thrive under the new regime.
The Brazilian's form this term, allying work-rate with creation and bite, has established him as the playmaker of choice in Mourinho's system. Mata, Chelsea's player of the season in each of his two campaigns at the club, knows he has to fit in around the man signed from Internacional, and must therefore become a workaholic winger. He watched from the stands here, before a Capital One Cup tie at Swindon to come on Tuesday in which he and those others currently on the fringes will start. "I hope he tells me on the pitch: 'You are wrong, I'm the best and I have to play every game,'" Mourinho said. "I'd love that. That's to be professional. He's a top kid and a top professional.
"He took [being left out of the squad] the way I wanted. He trained this morning and my assistant, who was with them, told me he trained very, very hard. If it was all about history then nobody would criticise me, because I won two titles here and never lost a home game in the Premier League. But the past is the past. What matters is now. You have to be judged on what you do now. He had a chance to play from the beginning against Aston Villa and Everton, and 35 minutes against Basel. The point is I have my options. The thing I love in football is when players prove I'm wrong. If he proves I'm wrong, I will be the Happy One, because I want him to be fantastic. I hope he will."
The Portuguese left his real flash of frustration for Ruud Gullit, a former Chelsea manager who was working as a pundit on Sky on Saturday night and had suggested that Mata's omission had been "something personal". "You know Ruud Gullit is a different kind of pundit because he was also a manager," Mourinho said. "He shouldn't be a very proud manager for what he did in the last years."
The game itself was more functional than flamboyant. Chelsea had heaved through the opening period, lucky not to fall behind when Pajtim Kasami slipped a pass between the home centre-halves but Darren Bent could only strike the on-rushing Petr Cech with his shot. The striker, at his sharpest, would have taken the opportunity with ease but here, with the effects of a disrupted pre-season and a recent hamstring strain perhaps blunting his edge, the chance went begging. Fulham created nothing clearer all night, their lack of ambition merely inviting pressure and making defeat feel inevitable. Their 34-year wait for a win in this arena goes on.
They did still frustrate the hosts through the opening period, Martin Jol sensing Chelsea "were really worried", only to undermine all their efforts by presenting a clear opportunity to Oscar the poacher. David Stockdale never really suggested confidence and his handling was sloppy early in the second half, a failure to grasp André Schürrle's near-post shot prompting panic. Samuel Eto'o's follow-up was pushed out by the goalkeeper as he sprawled down to his left but Oscar simply prodded the loose ball into the gaping net.
There was more urgency thereafter to Chelsea's display, a second goal eventually thrashed home from close-range by Mikel near the end. It was the first time the Nigerian had scored in the Premier League in 185 matches. "The lads have been killing me, saying I always score for the national team and never for us," the midfielder said.
Mourinho's next task may be to coax a league goal from one of his trio of strikers. Fernando Torres came closest here, forcing Stockdale into a smart save, but Eto'o still looks rusty. "I think he did his job, not in a brilliant way but he worked for the team, the same way [Demba] Ba and Torres always do," added the manager. "I cannot complain with effort and attitude, but they are not scoring goals. And that, for a striker, is not the best." Their chances will come. Mata must hope his do too.
================
Telegraph:
By Jason Burt
Chelsea top of the Premier League courtesy of a west London derby victory – so what could possibly be wrong? Except if ever there was a performance crying out for a tricky, creative elusive midfielder then this was it. Except Juan Mata, player of the year, model professional, did not even make Jose Mourinho’s squad and sat watching in his jeans and hooded top. Strange days at Stamford Bridge. Fantasy Football? This was functional. Little more.
Except Chelsea won and it piled the pressure on Fulham manager Martin Jol, whose side are now in the bottom three on goal difference. The first goal came from Oscar, the player chosen by Mourinho as his ‘number 10’ ahead of Mata even if most observers would find a place for both players in their team. It surely is not an either/or?
Mata and David Luiz — also dropped from the squad because of Mourinho’s displeasure — high-fived fans as they walked down the touchline prior to kick off, cutting incongruous figures in their civvies. Both fit. Neither needed. A testimony, of course, to the strength of this Chelsea squad but, more than that, a sign that everything is not right.
Not that Fulham has been the happiest of camps either with manager Martin Jol calling out the home supporters who barracked him during last week’s draw at home to West Bromwich Albion — an outburst he subsequently regretted. He will have also regretted having to go into this encounter, so often a draw in recent meetings, without the injured Dimitar Berbatov, as his side had slid towards that relegation zone prior to the kick-off and with other results.
The first opportunity, however, fell to them with two former Chelsea players — Damien Duff and Steve Sidwell — combining only for the latter to head over. Almost immediately Chelsea went close with Samuel Eto’o beating goalkeeper David Stockdale to Branislav Ivanovic’s cross only to steer the ball well wide.
But Fulham should then have taken the lead with a clever first-time pass from Pajtim Kasami, splitting the Chelsea defence, finding Gary Cahill woefully on his heels and exposed, and sending Darren Bent clear on goal.
He steadied himself but his shot was too deliberate and Petr Cech blocked. He had to score.
As, naturally, Chelsea’s dominance of possession grew so Fulham were pushed back. They remained composed but there was a scare when Eto’o cut inside on his right foot only for his shot to be deflected into the side-netting with Stockdale wrong-footed and another as Eden Hazard was bumped into by Sascha Riether inside the penalty area. No penalty was given.
Mourinho interchanged the trio behind Eto’o, with Hazard moving into the centre, but Fulham — with Scott Parker and Sidwell in front of the central defence — remained organised although Stockdale did then flap at a corner which only just skimmed over the onrushing Cahill.
Another corner was earned, after Ramires was crowded out, his shot also taking a deflection, following Eto’s header across goal. From it Stockdale, unconvincingly again, palmed the ball out to Hazard whose half-volley was screwed wide.
Fulham’s threat, on the break, was clear with Duff, in particular, prominent and Sidwell and Parker — to complete that trio of old boys at the Bridge — also figuring against an increasingly uninspired Chelsea approach which was summed up by Hazard shooting weakly across goal when things opened up and he had the chance to create something more meaningful.
The watching Roman Abramovich could not have been impressed while Mourinho remained seated before, finally, a strong opportunity was fashioned for Ivanovic. The ball pin-balled across the area and ran to the full-back whose powerful first-time effort was beaten out by Stockdale with his legs only to ricochet off Kieran Richardson for a corner. From it Hazard’s half-hearted shot was blocked and there was, at half-time, the mildest chorus of boos once more.
The urge for change was resisted but there was certainly a raising of the tempo as Chelsea pushed on after the interval. They need to quickly try and break this deadlock and provide some relief and it finally came through, inevitably, a Stockdale fumble. Hazard broke forward and slipped a pass to Andre Schurrle whose shot was bundled back into play by Stockdale who only palmed Eto’s scuffed, deflected follow-up effort into Oscar’s path. He found the net and Chelsea’s advantage was as fortuitous as it was undeserved.
From a floated free-kick by Kasami, Fulham should have quickly drawn level. The ball drifted over the Chelsea defenders to Sidwell who headed wide when, again, he should have scored. He wiped his face in disbelief.
Eto’o soon departed – with Fernando Torres’ arrival cheered deeply. Will the fears now grow, after another unconvincing performance by the 32-year-old Cameroonian striker, that here is another Andrei Shevchenko, another Torres for Chelsea? Certainly that central striker’s berth, a replacement for Didier Drogba, has become, to say the least, difficult to fill.
No-one could fault Fulham’s work-rate or their desire but having missed two such good opportunities to score they appear to lose a little belief also. There were more howls for a Chelsea penalty as Ramires was up-ended (or did he make the most of the challenge?) and then Stockdale pushed over Torres’ near post header. From the corner, John Obi Mikel hooked the ball home acrobatically. Astonishingly it was his first goal in 261 games while Cech beat out Richardson’s drive to preserve a clean sheet.
=======================
Mail:
Chelsea 2 Fulham 0: Blues back to winning ways as Oscar and Mikel send Mourinho's men top of the table after derby win
By ROB DRAPER
It is a good job Jose Mourinho is still special at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea remain a team in transition and, judging by yesterday’s win over Fulham, they are not entirely embracing the experience.
Were it not for his exalted status at the club, Mourinho might even be subject of a certain amount of vociferous frustration by now. Certainly, better first-half performances than this have been greeted by boos and catcalls under less well-liked managers.
For now, Stamford Bridge is prepared to give the Portuguese time. After all, they have waited so long for his return, it would be foolish to turn on him now.
And, in the end, his side did get the expected three points, courtesy of a collector’s item — a goal from John Obi Mikel adding to Oscar’s opener. That at least gave the appearance of a comfortable win. But despite an improved second-half performance, Chelsea were insipid and flat.
You have to believe that Mourinho will put this right; that Chelsea will be restored to something like the team of old so revered here. But, for now, they remain a parody of that former self, a team vulnerable and unsure of themselves.
Surely only the victory would have pleased Mourinho?
Juan Mata and David Luiz were duly banished to the stands, sitting behind the Chelsea bench, as Mourinho made four changes from Wednesday night’s Champions League defeat by Basle. Willian and Frank Lampard, the other casualties, were at least afforded places on the bench.
If Mourinho had demanded a reaction to Wednesday night’s debacle, his players were neither capable of providing it nor willing to listen. Early on, Samuel Eto’o demonstrated his extraordinary knack of sniffing out goalscoring positions, accelerating to meet a Branislav Ivanovic cross. However, he only managed to prod the ball over the Fulham bar.
The visitors should have taken the lead on 14 minutes, when Pajtim Kasami put in Darren Bent. Clean through on goal, Stamford Bridge tensed collectively before Petr Cech parried the shot from close range.
In truth, Fulham were cautious, though their discipline and shape had to be commended. Any midfield with Scott Parker and Steve Sidwell marshalling will be hard to break down. Still, there was no disguising the fact that Chelsea looked the antithesis of the energetic bunch who greeted Mourinho’s arrival at Chelsea for the first time in 2004.
On the rare occasions Fulham counter-attacked, Chelsea looked slow to get back into shape and allowed play to develop in areas of space. The one moment of brief exhilaration came on 36 minutes when David Stockdale scooped the ball out and Eden Hazard responded with an instinctive volley. However, it cleared the bar and any excitement was quickly quelled.
Just before half-time, Ashley Cole’s quick feet and Hazard’s persistence managed to set up Ivanovic, charging down the right. His shot, on target at least, was deflected wide.
Oscar's heat map shows how he was a constant threat to the Fulham midfield - click HERE to visit Sportsmail's brilliant Match Zone that gives you all the stats from the match
In the 52nd minute, there was finally a spark of creativity, Andre Schurrle driving into the box past his man and shooting. Stockdale failed to deal with the strike, parrying it away and allowing Eto’o a second chance from close range. The Fulham keeper again palmed that chance away but only to Oscar. From inside the area, the Brazilian had the simplest chance but still it took a Kieran Richardson deflection to ensure the ball crossed the line.
Chelsea had the breakthrough but even so they failed to play with the freedom they once had. Within two minutes, Fulham should have been level. Kasami’s floated free-kick found Sidwell at the far post but the midfielder, with a free header, directed the ball wide.
There was an improvement in Chelsea in the second half but still there was little to cheer.
On came Fernando Torres for the ineffective Eto’o in the 64th minute. Schurrle then attempted an ambitious free-kick from 35 yards that had Stockdale scrambling.
But Ivanovic’s surging runs down the right were proving Chelsea’s most dangerous outlet, an indictment on their attacking midfield trio. Indeed, the sighs of frustration were beginning to be the most frequent crowd interjections.
Only when John Terry headed substitute Frank Lampard’s corner back across goal in the 84th minute and Mikel responded with a delightful volley could Chelsea relax.
It was a momentous moment — Mikel’s first Premier Legaue goal in seven years at the club. More importantly, it stifled for now any dissent over the direction of this Chelsea team.
Chelsea: Cech 6; Ivanovic 8, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Cole 6; Ramires 6, Mikel 7; Schurrle 6 (Lampard 79), Oscar 7, Hazard 7 (De Bruyne 85); Eto’o 6 (Torres 64, 6).
Subs not used: Schwarzer, Essien, Willian, Azpilicueta.
Goals: Oscar 52, Mikel 85.
Fulham: Stockdale 5; Riether 5, Amorebieta 6, Hangeland 6, Richardson 6; Duff 6 (Taarabt 64, 6), Parker 6, Sidwell 6, Kacaniklic 5 (Tue Na Bangna 72, 5); Kasami 6 (Rodallega 85); Bent 5.
Subs not used: Etheridge, Senderos, Karagounis, Zverotic.
Att: 41,608
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands).
=====================
Mirror:
Chelsea 2-0 Fulham: Oscar and Mikel score as Blues shade sleepy West London derby
Matt Law
Jose Mourinho may well feel his team selection was vindicated yesterday.
The Chelsea manager’s first-choice in the No.10 role, Oscar, set his team on the way to a vital win over neighbours Fulham.
But the bored expession on the face of owner Roman Abramovich for much of the game told the real story – Chelsea were anything but the great entertainers without Juan Mata.
And Samuel Eto’o failed to find the back of the net, after Romelu Lukaku had scored a dramatic winner for Everton at West Ham.
Mata and David Luiz were not even among the Chelsea substitutes after Mourinho had revealed Oscar is his No.1 playmaker.
Mourinho justified his decision by saying: “We have 24 players for 18 places. We have Willian [instead of Mata]. Luiz is a technical decision.”
With last season’s Player of the Year Mata and Luiz watching from the stands, their side struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities in a drab first half.
It was Fulham who squandered the best chance.
Pajtim Kasami caught out Gary Cahill with a superbly weighted pass that put Darren Bent clear but the striker sent his low shot far too close to Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Mourinho’s men struggled to get behind the Fulham defence and the manager even had to pull the man who has taken Mata’s starting place, Andre Schurrle, over to the touchline to explain what he should be doing.
Having seen Lukaku get his Everton loan off to a spectacular start, Mourinho kept faith with Eto’o up front.
The striker twice had a sight of goal during the first half, but could not open his account on either occasion.
Eto’o got a toe to a Branislav Ivanovic cross but steered the ball well wide then had a low shot deflected for a corner.
Chelsea produced little else to occupy the Fulham defenders before the break.
Eden Hazard went down in the area after appearing to be nudged by Sascha Riether but referee Andre Marriner waved play on and there were few complaints from the Blues players.
But it took just seven minutes of the second half for the mood to lift considerably.
Schurrle finally attacked the Fulham defence and fired in a shot that David Stockdale could only fumble. The keeper recovered to save Eto’o’s follow-up attempt, but Oscar fired home the loose ball.
Former Blues midfielder Steve Sidwell had the opportunity to respond almost immediately for Fulham, but headed wide from close range.
Mourinho sent on Fernando Torres for Eto’o in the 64th minute but Chelsea had to wait until six minutes from full-time before they could breathe more easily.
John Terry headed substitute Frank Lampard’s corner across the six-yard box for John Obi Mikel to hook past Stockdale.
Chelsea may have returned to winning ways and at least temporarily moved to the top of the table. But there are still plenty of questions to be answered – and most of them revolve around Mata.
======================
Express:
Chelsea 2 - Fulham 0: Oscar pays back Jose Mourinho over Juan Mata matter
AN Oscar-winning performance was enough to make Chelsea top the Premier League bill last night – for 24 hours at any rate.
But don’t let that fool you. This was nothing like one of those movie masterpieces, and was down to a fortunate second-half strike by the Brazilian Oscar.
He is ahead in the pecking order as the team’s playmaker to Juan Mata, player of the year at the club for the last two seasons.
Manager Jose Mourinho said last week: “At this moment, Oscar is my No 10, and if somebody tells me he has not been Chelsea’s best player since the beginning of the season, I’d disagree.”
No-one would disagree that Oscar set his out-of-sorts side on the way to a decidedly unimpressive success that ended a dismal run by their standards.
And Jon Obi Mikel created his own bit of personal history with a second late on.
The win leapfrogged them over Arsenal, Spurs and the two Manchester giants who all play their games this afternoon. But it only served to paper over alarming cracks in the Stamford Bridge masterplan.
No wonder Mourinho breathed a huge sigh of relief. Top of the league or not, he looks to have a bigger job on his hands than he might reasonably have expected.
if somebody tells me Oscar has not been Chelsea’s best player since the beginning of the season, I’d disagree
Given that Fulham hadn’t beaten Chelsea in their last 15 meetings in all competitions before this they looked like the perfect match to help Mourinho get over the pain of four games without a win.
Trouble is, Chelsea don’t seem to know who’s doing what these days – and it showed from the word go yesterday. Enough, in fact, to get Mourinho to his feet on the touchline at a very early stage.
And when Darren Bent got on the end of a superb through ball from Pajtim Kasami after just 13 minutes it took a desperate dive by Petr Cech to deny the on-loan striker, who really ought to have done better with time and space to beat the keeper.
It was a bad effort by Bent. But it was still enough to have Chelsea’s hearts in their mouths.
The worried Blues huffed and puffed all right. But high balls into the box are not the sort of meat and drink Samuel Eto’o feeds off. Or how Chelsea used to play, either, for that matter.
Eden Hazard went close for Chelsea with a speculative strike, but we had to wait the best part of 35 minutes for that.
Then Branislav Ivanovic let fly with another piledriver just before the break, but all the signs on the home front really were far from encouraging.
Goal-less at half time was little more than Mourinho could expect. Fulham’s Martin Jol, by contrast, had good reason to be a bit disappointed, particularly with Bent.
His side, with Scott Parker effective in midfield, had certainly looked the more cohesive in that first 45 minutes.
Chelsea badly needed a slice of luck and they got it, courtesy of David Stockdale six minutes into the second half.
The Fulham keeper spilled a shot from Andre Schurrle that on another day he might have held and, after he could only parry the rebound, Oscar was in the right place at the right time to hammer home a goal Chelsea were mighty relieved to get.
Mikel wrapped up the points with his first league goal five minutes from time after John Terry set him up for a strike that has taken him an astonishing 261 games to get.
Roman Abramovich leapt to his feet to applaud the face- saving effort.
But, let’s face it, the Nigerian couldn’t have picked a better time to reward Mourinho’s faith in him.
CHELSEA: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Schurrle (Lampard 79), Ramires, Mikel, Hazard (De Bruyne 84); Oscar; Eto’o (Torres 59).
FULHAM: Stockdale; Reither, Hangeland, Amorebieta, Richardson; Parker, Sidwell; Duff (Taarabt 64), Kasami (Rodallega 84), Kacaniklic (Mesca 72); Bent.
Ref: A Marriner Att: 41,608
MAN of MATCH: OSCAR – A goal and his effort for 90 minutes provided the highlights in an unremarkable match
=======================
Star:
JOSE MOURINHO needed a miracle last night.
By Tony Stenson
Chelsea 2 - Fulham 0: Jose Mourinho feels the force of John Obi Mikel
And he got one when John Obi Mikel scored his first league goal in 261 league appearances for Chelsea.
A man on the tannoy boasted 'Crisis? What crisis?' as Chelsea left the pitch.
Mikel's goal came five minutes from time after Brazilian star Oscar had taken the heat off Chelsea's manager. But for how long? The Blues deserved to win this West London derby for their second-half showing - but an Oscar-winning performance this wasn't.
Mourinho's return to these shores is throwing up more questions than answers.
Chelsea's manager himself claims results have been ugly but he has promised the fans the beautiful game.
His side went joint-top with Liverpool last night by playing neither ugly nor beautiful - more workmanlike really.
But is that enough to satisfy a powerful owner who sacked two managers in a year for playing better and winning more? In the end he had to send on old faithful Frank Lampard to shore up the midfield.
Chelsea's route to victory eventually opened up in the second half but it took a long time before the all-stars overcame a Fulham side that rarely chalk up wins.
And if Fulham striker Darren Bent - known for missing the odd chance or twenty - had not done the norm and scuffed an early sitter then who knows what might have happened? Chelsea beat their West London neighbours to end a run of four winless games, including two defeats. Now we wait for the beautiful.
Can Mourinho - tinkering with his side more than Chelsea's original tinkerman Claudio Ranieri - cut it anymore? Bookies are already offering decent odds that he won't last the season, frustrated that he can't control and dictate as he once did.
The old saying 'never go back' continues to haunt him. Only Chelsea fans love Mourinho.
Fulham fans taunted him unmercifully with chants of, 'You're not special anymore'.
It was hard to argue with that - at least until the second half, when they finally got their act together.
Fulham had pressed them hard, with Scott Parker influential and dictating play in midfield but lacking someone to finish off the moves.
Chelsea again left £30million Brazilian Willian on the bench. At least he was a substitute. Juan Mata, in successive seasons Chelsea's Player of the Year, had to watch from the stands.
“Chelsea's manager himself claims results have been ugly but he has promised the fans the beautiful game.”
Fulham arrived having not beaten Chelsea in their previous 15 meetings but there were few nerves showing until Samuel Eto'o scared them after six minutes, shooting wide.
Fulham's Damien Duff, Parker and Steve Sidwell all previously played for Chelsea, so they were not overawed by the occasion.
Midfield ace Parker was keen to pump balls forward and allow Bent to test his pace against the Chelsea defence but Bent wasted a 13th-minute chance shooting straight at the advancing Petr Cech.
The action was fast and furious with Duff and Ashley Cole playing a big part.
Fulham created good openings, with Parker orchestrating most, but they lacked a finishing touch with any quality.
Fulham keeper David Stockdale stopped Branislav Ivanovic giving Chelsea a 45th-minute lead, blocking a shot with his legs.
Oscar finally broke the deadlock in the 51st minute.
Mourinho later sent on Fernando Torres for Eto'o to try to increase the lead.
Chelsea's aggression finally paid off when Mikel stole in to make it 2-0 to ease the pressure after the midweek defeat to Basel.
CHELSEA: Cech 6 , Ivanovic 6 , Cahill 6, Terry 6, A. Cole 6; Hazard 6 (De Bruyne 85th), Schurrle 6, (Lampard 79th), Mikel 6, Ramires 6; Oscar 8; Eto'o 5 (Torres 59th) 5).
FULHAM: Stockdale 6; Reither 7, Hangeland 7, Amorebieta 7, Richardson 6; Parker , Sidwelll 7, Duff 7; Kacaniklic 6 (Mesca (72nd) 5), Kasami 6 (Rodallega 84th), Bent 5
STAR MAN: Oscar
Ref: A Marriner
