Kalidou Koulibaly has been full of praise for new teammate Joao Felix, who had a turbulent Chelsea debut yesterday in the 2-1 defeat against Fulham.
Felix, who only signed on loan from Atletico Madrid this week, was thrown straight into the Blues starting line-up for Thursday’s trip to Fulham in the Premier League.
The 23-year-old forward was central to so many of his side’s attacks at Craven Cottage, going close to scoring himself on a couple of occasions.
However, the Portuguese star’s debut in English football will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. He was shown a straight red card just before the hour mark for a lunged challenge on Kenny Tete that was out of control.
Chelsea were in the ascendancy and looking the better side when the score was 1-1, but Vinicius Junior scored a Fulham winner to make the most of their numerical advantage.
Kalidou Koulibaly hails Joao Felix
Koulibaly shared post-match he noticed Felix having a really positive impact on the Chelsea side during the opening hour he played before his dismissal.
In particular, the 31-year-old Blues centre-half suggests the new signing was making a real difference with his creativity in the top third of the pitch.
“He’s a talented player, an important player for us,” Koulibaly told the club’s official website.
“We saw in the 60 minutes what he can do, a lot of good things. He can change the game, he can score and give some passes. We know he is going to help us, and having a player who can change the situation is good for the confidence of the team.”
There was a real buzz around Felix after an eye-catching first-half as a Chelsea player, but his red card means he’s suspended for upcoming games against Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Fulham.
It was clearly noticeable he did bring an extra spark to the Blues forward line, which has looked toothless for large parts of this season.
Fulham boss Marco Silva did highlight Felix as one of Chelsea’s biggest threats after yesterday’s game. He must secretly be pleased that his team won’t need to face him when the teams lock horns at Stamford Bridge next month.
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