LONDON : Fulham coach Marco Silva hailed his substitutes for once again coming off the bench to score in his side’s first win at Stamford Bridge in 45 years on Thursday.
By contrast, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca faced questions about why he did not shake up his team more decisively as the West London derby slipped out of their control, and why England winger Noni Madueke was not even in the squad.
After Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead in the 16th minute, Harry Wilson equalised for Fulham in the 82nd minute, a quarter of an hour after coming on, and fellow sub Rodrigo Muniz grabbed all three points for the visitors in the 95th minute.
“Of course, again, the impact of players coming from the bench is really important for us,” Silva told reporters, saying the two strikes took Fulham’s goal tally from substitutes this season to an unmatched nine.
“It means that everybody is on the same page and understands that the team is always above everything,” Silva said.
Fulham’s fans celebrated raucously at the final whistle after seeing their side not only score at the ground of their local rivals for the first time since 2011 but also claim all three points at Chelsea for the first time since 1979.
“I think we did it well and the aim was clear to break so many years without three points here,” Silva said.
The late turnaround win had echoes of Fulham’s last-gasp 2-1 victory in November in their other West London derby so far this season against Brentford when Wilson scored twice in stoppage time, again as a sub, to turn that game on its head.
Chelsea coach Maresca was pressed by reporters about the contrast between Silva’s successful substitutions and his decision to make only one change, swapping Nicolas Jackson for Christopher Nkunku in the 73rd minute.
The Italian, who has guided Chelsea to second in the standings in his first season in charge, defended his decision, saying he was happy with how the rest of his starting team were playing.
Asked about the absence of Madueke from the squad, he replied: “technical decision” without providing further details.
Maresca criticised the winger earlier this month saying he did not like the way he trained.
