By Kazeem Ugbodaga

Cole Palmer delivered a decisive performance as Chelsea began their Premier League campaign with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday.

The win also gave new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso a winning start to his first Premier League match in charge, although his side were forced to withstand a spirited Fulham fightback before securing all three points.

Chelsea needed barely a minute to take the lead. João Pedro raced through on goal after being played in by Palmer before calmly lifting the ball over goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

Fulham responded strongly and levelled in the 23rd minute through Joshua King, who controlled a pass on the edge of the box before firing into the bottom corner.

Chelsea restored their advantage eight minutes before half-time. Morgan Rogers, making his competitive debut for the club, showed composure inside the penalty area to finish after receiving an excellent pass from Maxence Lacroix.

The visitors then struck again early in the second half.

In the 49th minute, Palmer received a defence-splitting pass inside the Fulham penalty area and fired beyond Leno to put Chelsea 3-1 ahead.

The goal capped an impressive individual display from the England forward, who also provided the assist for Chelsea’s opener.

Fulham refused to surrender. Gonzalo García reduced the deficit in the 54th minute, reacting quickest to a rebound and powering a header into the net to make it 3-2.

The goal set up a tense final half-hour as Fulham searched for an equaliser and Chelsea attempted to protect their advantage.

Chelsea were dealt a blow when Palmer was forced off with an injury in the 83rd minute, with Estêvão replacing him. Pedro Neto and Geovany Quenda were also introduced as Alonso sought to add fresh legs to his team.

Fulham continued to press but could not find the goal that would have completed their comeback. Chelsea survived four minutes of added time to secure a valuable opening-day victory.

The result was particularly significant for Alonso, who arrived at Chelsea after his previous coaching work with Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid and was handed the task of beginning a new era at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s attacking quality was evident throughout the contest, with Palmer, Pedro and Rogers all making decisive contributions.