Xabi Alonso's first competitive match in charge of Chelsea was a minute old when it had its first goal, and it ended with his team having had 38.5 per cent of the ball and won anyway. Fulham 2-3 Chelsea at Craven Cottage, and both halves of that sentence matter.
There was a subplot in the other dugout. Álvaro Arbeloa is the man who replaced Alonso at Real Madrid in January, when Alonso was dismissed half a season into the job, and he is now at Fulham. Both have started again in England.
A goal before the first sip
Cole Palmer's first-time pass put João Pedro through inside the opening minute and he chipped Bernd Leno. Álvaro Arbeloa's Fulham had barely touched the ball.
Fulham had possession, Chelsea had the chances
This is the statistic that describes the evening. Fulham finished with 61.5 per cent of the ball and 620 passes to Chelsea's 389, and lost. Chelsea had more shots, 18 to 14, from a third of the possession, and edged expected goals 1.7 to 1.34. Alonso's sides at Leverkusen and Madrid were rarely accused of ceding the ball, so a first night built on transition rather than control is worth noting rather than dismissing.
Palmer had a point to make
He was left out of England's World Cup squad. On 49 minutes he took João Pedro's lay-off, ran beyond the last man and squeezed the finish through Leno's legs.
"Cole has played with responsibility, maturity, and freedom," Alonso said afterwards. "If we want to have a good team we need a great Cole." That is a manager naming the player his team is to be built around, in his first competitive week after taking the job on 1 July.
Morgan Rogers scored on debut
Chelsea's other new attacker needed 41 minutes to open his account, finishing Maxence Lacroix's cutback from the byline. Two of the three goals came from players making their first impressions of the season, which is the flattering read. The less flattering one is at the other end.
Robert Sánchez had a hand in both
Joshua King's low drive on 23 beat him at his near post. On 54, García headed in the rebound after Sánchez pushed a low shot back into play rather than away from it. Neither is unforgivable on its own. Together, on the opening night of a new manager's tenure, they are the reason a comfortable evening became a nervous one.
"We concede goals in the first minute, the end of the first half, and the beginning of the second half," Arbeloa said. "There are not worse times to concede goals."
What else was going on
Enzo Fernández came on to boos on 65 minutes with Manchester City's interest in him unresolved, on a day City agreed the sale of a third player to a Premier League rival. That subplot is not finished.
Chelsea host Brighton on Sunday. Fulham go to Sunderland the same afternoon.
