Three winners and two losers from Chelsea beating Fulham include Estevao Willian

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Chelsea are unbeaten going into the first international break of the campaign after winning at home to Fulham.

On Saturday afternoon, Chelsea picked up a 2-0 victory against their rivals at Stamford Bridge, making it seven points out of a possible nine in the Premier League.

A lot of the post-match fallout has been around Josh King’s disallowed goal, which would have put visitors Fulham in front. However, Enzo Maresca’s side eventually responded to a slow start to win the match and consolidate a strong beginning to the season.

• READ MORE: Chelsea star rages at his own fans straight after Blues score vs Fulham

Winners

After picking up a vital three points against Fulham, Chelsea had plenty of reasons to celebrate. We’ve taken a look below at the three biggest winners from the weekend’s game…

Joao Pedro: Joao Pedro once again made a point of proving why he’s one of the best summer signings anywhere across the Premier League.

The 23-year-old attacker, excelling in the No.10 position, scored the opener against Fulham with a header. In fact, we were surprised he didn’t take the penalty kick, which Enzo Fernandez converted to make it 2-0.

Even though Chelsea struggled in the first half against Fulham, they took control of the contest once Pedro started to get on the ball more and pull the strings. Afterwards, Joe Cole praised Pedro for his latest impressive Blues display.

It’s now two goals and two assists in the opening three matches of the season, so he must be one of the first names on the team sheet right now.

Estevao Willian: It’s turned out to be a really positive start for Estevao Willian as a Chelsea player, which he underlined with another eye-catching performance against Fulham.

Estevao, 18, excited the Blues supporters inside Stamford Bridge before he was substituted off midway through the second half. Yet again, the main takeaway from the Brazilian attacker’s game is he’s direct and purposeful when he gets the ball on the right wing.

Estevao admits he’s adapted quicker than he expected to his new club, and we certainly feel he looks at ease at this level.

Of course, not everything comes off for the Brazilian talent because he takes risks. It’s quite obvious that he’s ready to play an important role in the first team, though, which has surprised some.

Moises Caicedo: Chelsea’s team performance against Fulham was far from their very best, but that didn’t stop Moises Caicedo from impressing in central midfield like usual.

The 23-year-old defensive midfielder made some crucial interventions to keep his side level in the first half, including a remarkable last-ditch block inside the penalty area. It’s become so common from him in the past 12 months that supporters may be used to his brilliance.

While some teammates are still getting up to full speed early in the season, Caicedo looks like he’s ready to enjoy another stellar year in West London.

Losers

On the flip side, we’ve taken at a couple of the biggest losers from the Fulham win…

Liam Delap: Through no fault of his own, Chelsea striker Liam Delap was one of his team’s losers from Saturday’s match. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old was forced off the pitch early into the contest with a hamstring problem.

It felt like another huge opportunity for the summer signing, who’s searching for his first goal of the season, to make an impact after starting again. Instead, Maresca’s early guess is that Delap could be sidelined through injury for between six and eight weeks, via TNT Sports.

The injury has sparked a remarkable saga involving Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, whose loan move to Bayern has been cancelled. By the time Delap returns to fitness, will he have Jackson as competition again for the No.9 position?

Jamie Gittens: It must have been frustrating for Jamie Gittens to see his name on the bench again for the latest match. We suspected the 21-year-old winger may have entered the action early when Delap was forced off, but the head coach opted to use versatile youngster Tyrique George.

It feels like Gittens, who joined from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, still has plenty of work to do to establish himself as a permanent starter. Even in just over 20 minutes against Fulham, we didn’t see too much from the speedster.

It’s important to remember that players will adapt at different rates, so we’re not worried about him yet. We’re sure the player himself is frustrated, though.