Xabi Alonso's Chelsea Debut: Cole Palmer Shines in Win Over Fulham

Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea reign opened with a win, a scare, and a reminder of just how important Cole Palmer already is to everything this team wants to be.

Chelsea edged Fulham 3–2 in Alonso’s debut, a lively, chaotic game that should have ended in pure celebration. Instead, the closing minutes brought a jolt of anxiety. Palmer, the creative heartbeat of Chelsea’s attack, was clearly struggling physically and was eventually withdrawn, sparking immediate questions over whether last season’s injury troubles had returned to haunt him.

This time, they haven’t.

Cramp, Not Crisis

Palmer, who endured a stop-start 2025 campaign and missed out on England’s World Cup squad as a result, appeared to be in discomfort late on. Given his recent history, the sight of him grimacing was enough to drain the noise out of the away end for a moment.

Alonso moved quickly to calm the mood.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, the new Chelsea manager explained that Palmer and several senior players are simply readjusting to full-intensity, extended minutes. The issue, he suggested, was cramp rather than a fresh injury.

"I have really enjoyed his performance," Alonso told Sky Sports. "He has played with responsibility, with maturity, but as well with freedom.

"So that's very important for me that we get the best from Cole when he takes this role, but he feels the flow where he has to be involved in different positions. So happy for him. (If) we want to have a good team, we need a great Cole."

That last line landed with weight. Alonso has been at Chelsea for only one competitive game, but he has already nailed his colours to the mast: this project is going to be built around Palmer.

Palmer Takes Center Stage

On the pitch, Palmer backed up every word.

After a turbulent 2025, he looked sharp, confident and decisive against Fulham, knitting attacks together and dictating the tempo in the final third. Where others chased the game, Palmer seemed to see it two seconds ahead, drifting into pockets of space, demanding the ball, carrying responsibility.

It wasn’t just the manager who noticed.

New teammate Morgan Rogers, a longtime friend of Palmer’s, was emphatic when asked about the forward’s display during his August 24 media session.

"Yeah, well, everyone knows how good he is," Rogers said. "Obviously, he had a difficult year with injuries and stuff last year.

"You can see in his eyes in preseason and in training that he's ready this year and he's ready to prove people wrong. You saw that with that performance, best one on the pitch by a mile, and that's what he does."

“Best one on the pitch by a mile.” On a day that doubled as a statement win for a new manager, that line felt like a mission statement for Palmer’s season.

A Fit Palmer, A Different Chelsea

For Chelsea supporters, the message from Alonso was clear: don’t panic. This was not the start of another long, frustrating medical bulletin. It was the natural strain of a player pushing himself to reassert his status after a year lost to setbacks.

The performance against Fulham suggested that, with a fully firing Palmer, Chelsea’s attack suddenly looks more coherent, more dangerous, more purposeful. Alonso knows it. Rogers knows it. The crowd certainly felt it.

Now the question hangs over the rest of the campaign: if Chelsea really do get “a great Cole,” how far can this team go under Xabi Alonso?