‘Too hard’: Frank Leboeuf thought Joao Felix was trying too much on his Chelsea debut

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Frank Leboeuf thought the reason Joao Felix received a red card on his Chelsea debut was because he was overly attempting to impress.

Speaking on ESPN, Lebouef suggested the reason behind the 23-year-old dismissal was down to his excessively enthaustic start to life as a Blue.

Felix clearly wanted to impress those travelling fans who made the very short trip to Fulham last night.

The Portugal international was thrust straight into the starting line-up by Graham Potter, just a few days after officially being unveiled as a Chelsea player.

His loan move from Atletico Madrid looked to be a smart one in the opening exchanges between the two London rivals yesterday.

He was head and shoulders above the rest of his teammates in terms of threatening Fulham, and general greater talent whilst in possession.

Joao Felix sees red on Chelsea debut

Bernd Leno was forced into a few saves in the first-half by Felix, who looked intent on opening his Premier League account on day one.

But such a bright beginning in the capital came crashing down after the interval.

A rash and reckless high-challenge on Kenny Tete gave referee David Coote little choice but to brandish the red card.

Leboeuf linked this overzealous challenge to the Atletico loanee’s desire to make an instant impact at Chelsea.

“There was a lack of efficiency, especially from Joao Felix, who had lots of chances but couldn’t score. He tried hard, maybe too hard, that’s why he got sent off,” said the former defender.

Once Felix was given his marching orders, the tie completely swung back in Fulham’s favour.

They had taken the lead through Willian mid-way through the opening 45-minutes, only for Kalidou Koulibaly to level just 180 seconds in the second-half.

Potter’s side went down to ten just before the hour mark, with the hosts making the most of the advantage.

Carlos Vinicius’ header ensured the three-points remained in Marco Silva’s pocket, whilst also piling more pressure on the manager in the opposing dugout.