On his Chelsea debut, Joao Felix was dismissed after the Blues' manager Graham Potter came under further pressure following the team's 2-1 loss at Fulham.
The striker from Portugal, who had begun at Craven Cottage on loan from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, was sent off after just 58 minutes for a dangerous high-footed charge on Kenny Tete.
At that point, Willian, a former Chelsea player, had scored the game's first goal, but Kalidou Koulibaly had responded to tie the score. However, Carlos Vinicius' header put Potter's team in 10th place, one win away from the top four and nine games without a loss.
As a consequence of their fourth straight victory, Fulham moved up to sixth position, four points behind fourth-place Manchester United. Felix was quickly inserted into the lineup and showed promise throughout the first half, but he will now sit out three games and join a long list of players who are unavailable for Potter.
Felix almost immediately made a difference thanks to some deft wide play that set up Kai Havertz. After a rebound, the ball fell to Lewis Hall, but his shot was straight at Bernd Leno.
Early in the first half, despite the fact that Chelsea controlled the ball, the home team had the closest opportunity to take the lead when Bobby Decordova-Reid found himself unmarked in the box and his shot deflected against the crossbar. Almost immediately after, Willian beat a defender on the edge of the box before seeing a shot ricochet past Kepa Arrizabalaga to give Fulham the lead.
By not celebrating his second goal for Fulham, the former Chelsea player showed respect for the team he had played for. Chelsea struggled to exert themselves in the same way they did before the goal, but Fulham kept up the pressure until the conclusion of the first half.
Early in the second half, Chelsea equalized when Koulibaly bundled in a Mason Mount free kick. Technology later confirmed that the ball had crossed the goal line before Leno could catch it.
When Felix flew into a challenge in the middle of the field, catching Tete mid-shin with his studs up, his debut came to an abrupt end. Referee David Coote immediately showed Felix the red card. When Vinicius outran the Chelsea defenders to head in an Andreas Pereira cross at the far post, Fulham took advantage of their numerical advantage.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, who was suspended after receiving his fifth caution of the season against Leicester in the previous Premier League game, was replaced by Vinicius, who made the most of his opportunity by giving Fulham the lead once more in the 73rd minute.
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