Fulham 1 Chelsea 2: Gonzalo Higuain and Jorginho seal west London derby win

JOE KRISHNAN 

Goals from Gonzalo Higuain and Jorginho handed Chelsea a 2-1 win over Fulham to secure their first away win in 2019.

Higuain ended the Blues' run of four away games without a goal after netting midway through the first half but Calum Chambers brought the Cottagers back level after shoddy defending from the away side.

Jorginho scored his second goal for Chelsea just four minutes later to restore the lead and despite Fulham's pressure in the second half, it was enough to secure a narrow victory.

The selection of Kepa Arrizabalaga dominated the headlines after Maurizio Sarri decided to recall the Spaniard, following their bust-up during the EFL Cup final.

But it was up the other end where Chelsea began to make waves, with Higuain heading wide from Eden Hazard's cross after just four minutes when it looked a certain goal.

In their first game under caretaker manager Scott Parker, Fulham looked rejuvenated and only a last-ditch block from Cesar Azpilicueta denied Tom Cairney what would have been a decent chance to take the lead.

Kepa nearly found himself making the headlines for the wrong reasons again when he dropped a fairly innocuous ball into the area from Tim Ream, but the 24-year-old was fortunate that Ryan Babel hadn't reacted in time to prod home into the empty net.

And soon after, Chelsea broke the deadlock. Willian, who had been influential in the attacking midfield, played in the overlapping Azpilicueta and the captain crossed to the near post for Higuain to tuck home with a textbook finish.

Kepa was then forced into a fine save to deny Aleksandar Mitrovic after the striker had volleyed towards the top corner. But from the resulting corner, Chambers found himself in acres of space and volleyed home at the far post, exposing Chelsea's defensive woes once again.

The Blues restored their lead just four minutes later when Hazard fed Jorginho on the edge of the box and the Italy international coolly placed his effort into the top corner from 20 yards.

Chelsea came close to extending their advantage but Sergio Rico made a stunning save to deny Higuain almost a carbon copy of his first goal, throwing his arm up to deny the Argentinian.

The Blues began the second period in the ascendancy, with Willian and Hazard both going close, but Fulham almost took confidence from their missed chances to put pressure on the away side.

Their best chance arrived on the hour mark when Mitrovic, receiving the ball from Babel, struck just over the bar from the edge of the box.

And Kepa was forced into action again after a decent hit from Joe Bryan was punched away by the Spaniard.

Parker sent on Luciano Vietto and Floyd Ayite in search of an equaliser and they nearly got their wish when Sessegnon knocked a clever ball to Mitrovic in the dying moments but the target man's header was saved by Kepa.

Chelsea held on, albeit not comfortably, for the three points to keep up in the race for the top four and leave Fulham on the brink of relegation.