Chilwell scores on return as Crystal Palace come from behind to defeat Fulham

[p]After a difficult opening couple of games under their respective new managers, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/fulham/69ZiU2Om/"]Fulham[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Palace[/a] knew the importance of a fast start in West London.[/p][p]It was [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arbeloa-alvaro/CO9bjrLo/"]Alvaro Arbeloa[/a]’s men who came flying out of the blocks, and their early pressure was rewarded in the 11th minute when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/king-joshua/tnnZhru5/"]Josh King[/a]’s low strike in the box took a fortuitous deflection and looped over the dive of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/henderson-dean/OpFOJojt/"]Dean Henderson[/a].[/p][p]Undeterred, the visitors nearly restored parity just three minutes later, only for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kamada-daichi/bayITLyE/"]Daichi Kamada[/a]’s clinical finish to be ruled out for a marginal offside.[/p][p]Having scored at least twice on seven of their last eight visits to Craven Cottage, Palace remained a threat in the final third, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/richards-chris/fVGFlDh2/"]Chris Richards[/a]’ strike from the edge of the box drew a smart save from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/leno-bernd/jwRV63z0/"]Bernd Leno[/a].[/p][p]Fulham went close themselves shortly after, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/castagne-timothy/xYfOMcA5/"]Timothy Castagne[/a] seeing a first-time effort expertly thwarted by Henderson. That save proved to be crucial, as the visitors equalised in the 35th minute through [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mitchell-tyrick/tbyIjQ0h/"]Tyrick Mitchell[/a], who drilled a powerful strike beyond Leno at the near post.[/p][image alt="Match stats" id="8a875c39-738f-4d59-a80d-b287c84ac7d2" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="8c0e03f8-cd34-4819-b04c-cf36c830fe8b" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]The Cottagers restored their lead before half-time, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/perez-cesar/8d2U9MPp/"]Cesar Palacios[/a] converting a rebound for his first league goal after [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/garcia-gonzalo/pWxyEyDA/"]Gonzalo Garcia[/a]’s initial effort had been repelled by Henderson.[/p][p]Fulham carried their momentum into the early stages of the second period, and Palacios spurned a glorious chance to net his second of the afternoon, firing narrowly wide from close range.[/p][p]Grateful for that reprieve, Palace drew level for the second time in the 54th minute, as a lucky deflection off Mitchell dribbled over the line to send the away support into raptures.[/p][p]Both sides continued to threaten with time ticking into the final half-hour, with Henderson standing firm in the visitors’ goal to deny [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bobb-oscar/GzxuaXeQ/"]Oscar Bobb[/a].[/p][p]Determined to secure a first win of the season, Pierre Sage introduced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hughes-will/j1OKB8dN/"]Will Hughes[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chilwell-benjamin/txvuTaNB/"]Ben Chilwell[/a] for the final 15 minutes, and the latter had an immediate impact for the Eagles, volleying home a loose ball in the box to score his first goal since May 2025.[/p][p]That proved to be the decisive moment, as despite late chances for [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rodrigo-muniz/A5ZlWABs/"]Rodrigo Muniz[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sessegnon-ryan/WOecsPmi/"]Ryan Sessegnon[/a], the visitors held firm to seal victory, meaning Fulham have opened a top-flight season with three successive defeats for just the third time in their history.[/p][image alt="Momentum" id="2d48663c-d8ae-4724-bce5-53ed061bf2b1" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="f3d5effa-42b9-4ae9-818e-101df506df5a" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mitchell-tyrick/tbyIjQ0h/"]Tyrick Mitchell[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/crystal-palace/AovF1Mia/"]Crystal Palace[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/crystal-palace-AovF1Mia/fulham-69ZiU2Om/?mid=Y7vRi6x0"]Get all the match stats here with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p]