New Blues head coach Liam Rosenior watched from the stands as 10-man Chelsea lost 2-1 to West London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Rosenior was not appointed in time to take charge but took a watching brief and may have feared the worst when Marc Cucurella was sent off early on.
This was the seventh red card the team had received this season and the third time in the league they had gone down to 10 in the first half. Equally concerning for Rosenior – who starts work officially on Thursday morning — will have been the sight of three Chelsea players talking themselves into a booking over their protests.
Chelsea fell behind to Raul Jimenez’s header after 55 minutes, but Rory Delap levelled after the ball rebounded off the post from a corner routine.
With nine minutes remaining, Harry Wilson beat Jorrel Hato with a smart touch just inside the penalty area before half-volleying the ball into the left corner beyond Robert Sanchez.
There was anger in the away end, with a ‘BlueCo out’ banner displayed and chants against the ownership as they watched on alongside their new appointment Rosenior.
Defeat means Chelsea fall to seventh place in the Premier League, below Brentford, while Fulham join them on 31 points from 21 games.
Premier League Results
Manchester City 1-1 Brighton
Everton 1-1 Wolves
Manchester United 2-2 Burnley
Bournemouth 3-2 Spurs
Brentford 3-0 Sunderland
Leeds United 3-4 Newcastle United.