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Mauricio Pochettino made a few alterations to how Chelsea set up on Monday evening against Fulham and it undoubtedly worked at Craven Cottage. The Blues scored their first Premier League goals since August 25 as they beat their west London rivals 2-0 on the night.
Goals in the space of 82 seconds from Mykhailo Mudryk and then Armando Broja were enough for Chelsea to deservedly beat Fulham. The win against the Cottagers comes just a few days after a much-needed victory over Brighton in the Carabao Cup – which means Chelsea have now won back-to-back matches to end a barren spell for the club on the pitch.
After the game, the Blues head coach refused to get too carried away with what he had seen from his team, but the joy was evident to see. "In football you need to be ready for everything," Pochettino told reporters. "Now we are focusing to prepare for the next game Saturday [vs Burnley] which will be tough also.
"I think it is important for the players to be relieved after two victories. Then we were playing well and we keep working and we keep providing them the tools to play well. I'm so happy for the players. Now ready to Saturday but first we need to recover the players and hope it's not a big issue so we have a competitive squad for Saturday."
Pochettino made a few tactical tweaks to his lineup at Craven Cottage from the side that were beaten in the Premier League last time out against Aston Villa. Marc Cucurella came in at right-back for the suspended Malo Gusto and the Spaniard did a stellar job in what is an unorthodox position for him.
Broja took Nicolas Jackson's space up front with the Senegal international serving a one-match ban after accumulating five yellow cards in the league already. But it was the way the midfield was set up that was particularly interesting from a Chelsea point of view.
READ MORE: Every word from Mauricio Pochettino on Mykhailo Mudryk injury, Caicedo, Broja and Chelsea win
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For the opening matches of the season thus far, we have seen Enzo Fernandez play in a slightly more advanced role in midfield. In the very first few games, he seemed to excel in the position – making the transition look relatively seamless. However, in more recent games, Enzo had gone a bit quieter; leading to some surprise criticism.
On Monday evening, though, Enzo was used in a deeper role and captain for the night, Conor Gallagher, was deployed in a more advanced position; something that seemed to suit the pair of them more. Enzo registered more successful ball recoveries, with 10, than any other player on the pitch. The Argentine midfielder also recorded more attacking third passes (10/13) than any other Blues player on the pitch.
Taking to Reddit after the game, Chelsea fans were once again left in awe of the Argentine midfielder. One user said: "Guy's a baller. So surprised at all the negative comments in the game discussion."
"Actually insane how he went straight back to one of our best players the moment he played next to Caicedo," another added. "Those two plus Gallagher is a stronger midfield than I ever expected."
"Play the man in his natural position and watch him cook!" another user said. While someone else added: "He was immense today. Looked way too comfortable doing it too. What a baller!"
The position change allowed Enzo to dictate the game more – something we have become so accustomed to seeing since he made the £106million move from Benfica in the most recent January transfer window. The 22-year-old midfielder is so difficult to pick up when he is at his best and almost becomes a free man for Chelsea.
Moises Caicedo seemed to benefit from having Enzo alongside him as well. It was a partnership Chelsea supporters were super excited about seeing when Caicedo signed in the summer, but one they had not properly seen until the win over Fulham on Monday.
The midfield set the standard for Chelsea at Craven Cottage. Pochettino will now use that performance as guidance for the foreseeable future as he looks to find some sort of upwards trajectory with the Blues squad this season.
