Chelsea Comeback Spoils Hodgson's Welcome Party

Craven Cottage might have witnessed the arrival of a new manager today, but the same old ills haunted Fulham as they threw away their lead and let Chelsea secure victory in the west London derby.

Fulham's new manager, Roy Hodgson, must have felt his side had a great chance to upset Chelsea, whose injury list included Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, John Terry and Andriy Shevchenko. And Avram Grant's men seemed to miss Drogba in particular during the early stages of the game as they failed to capitalize on the high balls the Ivorian so loves to exploit.

Indeed, it was no surprise when Fulham took the lead on 10 minutes. Diomansy Kamara had already tested Hilario when Moritz Volz skipped past Wayne Bridge before Joe Cole faintly clipped him in the box. Danny Murphy planted the resulting penalty low to Hilario's right.

Fulham, however could not extend the lead. Davies wasted a chance after stealing into the area and Chelsea gradually began to assert themselves. Balls were played quickly into the feet of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Cole and Saloman Kalou, and Carlos Bocanegra and Dejan Stefanovic were constantly pulled out of position.

It was the introduction of Mikel John Obi that finished Fulham off though. Mikel replaced the ineffective Steve Sidwell and Michael Essien soon began to join Chelsea's attacks. In the 54th minute, Alex leapt highest to head the ball on for Kalou, who beat Bocanegra to the ball and claim the equalizer.

Minutes later, Clint Dempsey tugged Michael Ballack's shirt in the area, the German tumbled to the ground, and then picked himself up to fire home what proved to be the winner from the spot.

Fulham had the better of the latter stages of the game - substitute David Healy lifted over a difficult chance - but Chelsea never looked in serious trouble. They stay in touch with Arsenal and Manchester United at the top of the Premier League. Fulham, however, continue to languish in the relegation zone and Hodgson looks like he has a long 2008 in front of him.