Chelsea 1-2 Fulham: Rodrigo Muniz wins it in stoppage time to hit Blues' Premier League title hopes

Fulham delivered a stoppage-time hammer blow to Chelsea's Premier League title aspirations with Rodrigo Muniz's last-gasp finish grabbing a 2-1 win and a first victory at Stamford Bridge for the Cottagers since 1979.

Muniz was in acres of space in the box when Sasa Lukic found him with a low cross to deliver a belated Christmas gift to the elated travelling support. The Fulham bench emptied in celebration - Chelsea's subs, coaching staff and boss Enzo Maresca slumped back into their seats.

The Blues head coach has repeatedly tempered talk of a title challenge and, after drawing with Everton at the weekend, this Boxing Day derby defeat leaves them reeling. They finish this round of matches seven points adrift of Liverpool, who won one of their two games in hand against Leicester later in the day.

Sub Harry Wilson - who had turned another west London derby against Brentford with heroics off the bench earlier this season - cancelled out Cole Palmer's wonderful opener with a close-range header and Fulham capitalised on the counter to score a historic victory over their neighbours.

For Fulham - who have taken points off Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham this season - this was another landmark moment of their progression under Marco Silva. Hit by injuries to their midfield, they switched to a back five and weren't at their usual ball-playing best for much of the contest. But when they pushed forward after the break they showed the pace and precision to take a big scalp. They finish the day level on points with defending champions Man City and on the brink of the European qualification places.

The visitors should have been level well before Wilson's 83rd-minute intervention but Antonee Robinson's usually trusty touch let him down at the crucial moment and allowed Robert Sanchez to smother the shot. Meanwhile, Fulham 'keeper Bernd Leno also caught the eye with several key stops - particularly late on when he denied Christopher Nkunku and then Jadon Sancho.

Leno also tipped an Enzo Fernandez drive over the bar but after Palmer beat a couple of Fulham challenges and finished sweetly through the legs of Issa Diop and into the bottom corner in the first half, Chelsea's threatening moments were only fleeting.

A Levi Colwill header rightly ruled out for offside at the start of the second half was another - but this perhaps was a performance that backed up Maresca's claims his side are not yet ready to duel for the biggest prizes.

Paul Merson on Soccer Saturday:

"Chelsea just sat back and let Fulham dictate the game after going a goal up. Fulham looked the most dangerous team. Chelsea kept sitting back.

"Since they have gone second in the league, I don't know if the nerves have hit them and they've got a little bit tight, because against Everton they weren't great either.

"It ups the expectation, 100 per cent. Now all of a sudden we're talking about Chelsea getting top four, whereas before it was, 'Chelsea are in the title race.'

"It's all built up and I just thought today they looked nervous. They've got too many good players to sit back like that. For me, they are not really a major counter-attacking team.

"You've got to go and close games down. I thought Fulham thoroughly deserved it in the end."

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca:

"To concede the goal we conceded at the end, it is a bad feeling. I said many times when you can't win it's important you don't lose. The first15 minutes of the second half was the point I didn't like - we conceded so many transitions. We know they are a team building from transitions. First half we controlled that very good, second half we gave them too much energy.

"Its difficult to find a team with so many players that can run a lot. Before you attack you have to make passes and then we are together. It's a lesson we can learn. If they attack quick and we attack quick it becomes a basketball game.

"The reality: we can see there are many things we can do better. For sure tonight one of the things is game management. But also I think we did many good things. I didn't see the players with pressure [of a title race].

Fulham boss Marco Silva:

Conceding the first goal is not easy. Throughout the first half we improved in that situation, started to control it a bit better. We knew Neto would follow Robinson all the way. Second half the reaction was top. We changed some things in our system, without Sander Berge. We started not at the best level but I really believe we deserved the three points. With better decisions in the second half I think we did well.

From the beginning of December, our unbeaten run keeps going. Our speech before the game was about breaking this record [at Stamford Bridge]. We wanted to give this happiness to our fans on Boxing Day, a special day, and for the next few days them to have this feeling.

We were without four or five players. We tried to do something different. But we showed we have been growing. The group is responding really well, the players from the bench made another big impact. Our fans deserve the feeling they have right now. This result is not going to change our ambitions.

Insportly' Zinny Boswell at Stamford Bridge:

Enzo Maresca kept referring to Chelsea's failure to manage the game against Fulham as the reason for losing at home against their west London rivals for the first time since 1979. The first 15 minutes of the second half particularly, he said, cost his side.

There was a moment just before the hour, when it was 1-0, which illustrated exactly what Maresca was getting at. Cole Palmer picked up the ball with Chelsea breaking and blue shirts bursting forward. Palmer disappointed them by deliberately slowing the game down.

Chelsea voices in the crowd could not disguise their upset. Maresca was alone in applauding the perceived negative action. These are the moments he wants to see more of from his side. Fulham came looking for transitions, and he wanted to take that away.

Maresca ideally would like his team to move up the pitch as a unit to avoid leaving holes for the opposition to expose - "Before you attack, you need to make passes, passes, passes so we are together," the Chelsea boss said - even if it's at the expense of excitement.

Leicester fans sometimes became weary with the ways of their former manager last season despite him leading them to a comfortable promotion as Championship winners. Maresca's philosophy clearly takes some time to adjust to. Not everyone at Chelsea gets it yet.

That's perhaps why he has repeatedly said Chelsea aren't ready to challenge for the title yet. Results have been impressive, this being their first defeat in the league since losing at Liverpool in October, but he knows that the team are still learning how to play his way.

Insportly' Peter Smith at Stamford Bridge:

At the start of this season, had you told Fulham supporters they'd be heading home on Boxing Day with their side level on points with defending Premier League champions Manchester City, they would not have believed you. But while City have slumped, this is a Fulham team on the up under Marco Silva. A first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979 is validation of that.

Perhaps even more impressively, this was a historic win achieved without Emile Smith Rowe or Sander Berge, two of their top performers this term. Harrison Reed was also missing from a depleted midfield, while regulars Kenny Tete and Reiss Nelson are in the treatment room, too.

But Fulham have found a way to take points off Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham this term and, with a change in formation here, they have dealt a blow to neighbours Chelsea. It's a result they will revel in. But with Silva at the helm and this talented group finding ways to win in different ways, their prospects for 2025 are looking bright.