The managers may have changed but the result stays the same. For the fourth successive trip to this part of west London, Crystal Palace returned to south London with all three points in the bag as Pierre Sage got his reign off the mark in dramatic style. Their hero was Ben Chilwell, the former England left-back who was signed on deadline day from Strasbourg – this time permanently after he spent the second half of 2024-25 on loan and helped Palace win the FA Cup – and who came off the bench to volley home the winner.
It was a bitter blow for Fulham’s new manager Álvaro Arbeloa, who had seen his side lead twice through the impressive Josh King – showing his real potential in front of the watching England manager, Thomas Tuchel – and César Palacios before being pegged back twice by Tyrick Mitchell, the second in bizarre circumstances. They left the pitch to boos from some supporters and remain pointless in the league after three matches.
But having won here three times in 2025 under Oliver Glasner, this has been a happy hunting ground for Palace and Chilwell could not contain his delight as he celebrated with the travelling fans at the full-time whistle.
Like Palace, Fulham have made a habit of doing their business late in the window. But there was no place in the starting lineup for any of the three deadline day arrivals, with Hugo Larsson, David Affengruber and Manuel Ángel – the third player signed by Arbeloa from his former club, Real Madrid – all on the bench. It did not take long for Alex Iwobi – the 30-year-old who has now become only the fifth player in Premier League history to reach 100 or more appearances for three clubs – to start pulling the strings in midfield alongside the new £3om signing from Southampton, Shea Charles.
A sloppy early pass from Jaydee Canvot inside the first minute that almost gifted Palacios an opportunity betrayed the nerves of a Palace defence that had the Chelsea loanee, Axel Disasi, in the centre of the back three also favoured by Sage’s predecessor. When Timothy Castagne waltzed through and shot wide not long after it looked like being a long afternoon, and on 11 minutes Palace fell behind. Adam Wharton failed to clear a cross from Oscar Bobb and it fell straight into the path of King, whose shot took a big deflection to deceive Dean Henderson.
It was typical of Sage’s luck so far that a superb apparent equaliser less than two minutes later was chalked off. Daichi Kamada had strayed millimetres offside before volleying in a brilliant cross with the outside of his boot from Yéremy Pino. Palace were indebted to Disasi for blocking Bobb’s goalbound shot at the other end after Chris Richards had forced Bernd Leno into a full-length save. The visitors could have found themselves 2-0 down when Henderson saved a Castagne shot from close range, but Mitchell beat Leno at his near post to equalise against the run of play after being set up by Eddie Nketiah.
Palace’s joy was shortlived, however. Richards – being watched by his USA manager Mauricio Pochettino – was fooled by King’s clever dummy and the England Under-21 midfielder accepted the invitation to burst into the box. His cross would have been diverted into his own net by Canvot had it not been for an excellent save from Henderson, but Palacios put the ball into the empty net.
Of the two managers dressed all in black, it was no wonder that Sage looked much more concerned than his Spanish counterpart as they headed down the tunnel for the break. Things had not seemed to have improved much at the start of the second half when Palacios fired just wide following a corner and then Quinten Timber, starting as Wharton’s midfield partner on his Palace debut, had to block another shot from King after a flowing move.
But Palace’s luck suddenly changed for the better when they scored a comical second equaliser. Mitchell’s initial effort was cleared by García as the striker charged back into the area, but the Palace defender volleyed hopefully towards goal as he fell and García somehow managed to miss the ball altogether as it trickled over the line.
Fulham seemed to shrink after conceding and Palace sensed an opportunity. The comeback was complete when Chilwell volleyed in after Anan Khalaili’s effort had been blocked, and Fulham were forced to accept their fate once their own substitute left-back, Ryan Sessegnon, found the sidenetting in stoppage time.
