There were subplots aplenty heading into this intriguing clash, as new British record signing Enzo Fernandez made his Chelsea debut, while wantaway forward Hakim Ziyech was also included in the starting line-up after his proposed deadline-day move to Paris Saint-Germain collapsed.
Despite Potter’s side taking most of the pre-match headlines, it was Fulham that created the first meaningful chance of the match when Andreas Pereira’s stinging strike forced a fine one-handed stop from Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Fernández looked to show his worth with a beautiful pass towards Mason Mount, who in turn picked out Kai Havertz, but the German could only divert his sliding attempt over the bar.
A subdued Stamford Bridge did not have too much else to get excited about, until Havertz timed his run to perfection from Ziyech’s pass, but his attempted lob was denied by the post on the stroke of half-time.
One January signing replaced another for the Blues ahead of the restart, with the largely anonymous Mykhailo Mudryk replaced by another debutant, Noni Madueke.
However, it was the Cottagers looking the more dangerous outfit again, with Willian, a former Chelsea stalwart, seeing his low driven effort saved by Kepa.
The Spanish shotstopper was breathing a huge sigh of relief later in the half as he scampered back and managed to hold Aleksandar Mitrović’s audacious long-range attempt.
Chelsea had managed only one shot on target as the game entered the final 10 minutes, but came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock when David Datro Fofana rounded Bernd Leno, only for his strike to be brilliantly cleared to safety by Tim Ream.
The Blues looked relatively short of ideas going forward, as Fulham held on comfortably for a well-earned point, and their supporters’ cries of ‘what a waste of money’ will likely dictate the narrative around this expensive group of Chelsea players until Potter can improve on a run of just two wins from their last 12 league games.
