Chelsea have built the Premier League's best forward line - but title push will still be beyond Xabi Alonso's Blues

Palmer's dazzling display will have come as a huge relief to the Chelsea faithful. The 24-year-old was a shadow of his best self last season, looking low on confidence amid niggling injury troubles, and had little cause to complain when he was left out of England's final squad for the 2026 World Cup.

But this was more or less the same version of Palmer who became an instant Chelsea hero in his first season at the club. His one-touch pass through to Pedro to open the scoring at Fulham was perfectly weighted, and he showed great desire to get in the box and link up with the Brazilian again before calmly tucking home Chelsea's decisive third goal.

Palmer racked up five shots, three key passes, five dribbles and seven recoveries before coming off for Estevao due to cramp in the 83rd minute. He was deservedly named Player of the Match, and any concerns of whether he and Rogers would crowd each other out in dual No.10 roles have been dispelled - at least for now. Rogers has a long way to go to justify his record price tag, but this was an excellent debut, and Pedro clearly enjoyed bouncing off the two England internationals.

At the other end of the pitch, though, Chelsea looked far too vulnerable. Fulham only had twofewer shots than the Blues (14), and equalled their haul of six on target. The visitors were all at sea whenever the ball was whipped into their box and lost too many second balls over the 90 minutes - which they won't get away with against the better teams in the division.

The main reason that Chelsea looked so frail was the continued presence of Robert Sanchez between the sticks. The Spaniard has been their No.1 goalkeeper for the best part of three seasons now, despite the many obvious flaws in his game, and Alonso will pay the price if he continues to back him.

Josh King's near post strike that brought Fulham back to 1-1 should have been pushed away easily by Sanchez, but he got his positioning all wrong and could only help the ball on its way into the net. He was also at fault for Gonzalo Garcia's 54th minute goal, palming a shot from Timothy Castagne straight into his compatriot's path, and got extremely lucky late on when United States star Antonee Robinson volleyed wide after the 'keeper was caught in no man's land by a long ball forward.

"We need to accept and learn from them [the mistakes]," Alonso said after the game. "This is going to be a process. All the lines, from the strikers, the midfielders, the defence, the goalkeepers, we want to do better in everything." If Sanchez hasn't learned by now, he never will.

Alonso's tactics leave Sanchez more exposed, too. While ex-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca favoured a possession-heavy approach, Alonso aims to overwhelm the opposition in the transitional phase. Fulham had more of the ball, and there was a basketball feel to the game at times that put Sanchez in the spotlight too often.

Incredibly, the latest reports indicate that Chelsea have no plans to sign another goalkeeper, with 21-year-old Mike Penders currently serving as Sanchez's back-up. That is a huge mistake, as Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher correctly observed while on punditry duty for Sky Sports, saying: "Chelsea will never win the league with Sanchez in goal - impossible, it can't happen."

Fulham also had more control in midfield, which was always likely to happen after Alonso went with the untested central pairing of Romeo Lavia and Reece James in the absence of the injured Moises Caicedo. Argentina talisman Enzo Fernandez, who was booed by Chelsea fans in pre-season after his World Cup antics against England, had to make do with a place on the bench.

Fernandez came on just after the hour mark and completed 19 of his 21 passes in the face of more jeers whenever he touched the ball, this time from the Fulham faithful. He was instructed to sit deep and played it safe as Chelsea sought to hold on to the three points - a far cry from the all action No.8 role he thrived in under Maresca - so on the surface a proposed switch to Manchester City may not feel like that big of a deal.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that City will launch a formal bid for Fernandez before the September 1 deadline, which could be in excess of £120m, but Chelsea probably wouldn't have enough time to find someone who can adequately fill his boots. The iPaper claims that the Blues have seen three offers for Bournemouth's Alex Scott rejected, and the Cherries have made it clear they have no desire to sell, with no concrete alternatives lined up for Alonso at this stage.

Fernandez's importance may have dwindled slightly because of Rogers' arrival; he will take the burden of delivering regular goals and assists away from the Argentine, but losing his technical prowess would still be a devastating blow. He's an adaptable all-rounder who can dictate the tempo from the back and keep a cool head under pressure. The partnership with the more defensively-minded Caicedo hasn't always worked, but Fernandez would be closer to the Ecuadorian in Alonso's system, with three centre-halves providing greater protection behind them.

Much like Grant Xhaka was for Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, Fernandez could be the lynchpin who opens up passing lanes for Chelsea's front three and breaks up play at will. It would make far more sense to keep him than to scramble for a last-minute replacement who does not have the same variety to their game.

Alonso warmly embraced Fernandez at full-time at Craven Cottage, but later admitted it's possible the former Benfica playmaker will move on in the coming days. "In football, I am not surprised by anything," the Chelsea boss told BBC Radio Five Live. "We will see. My wish is that we know what will happen for the future but we will see this week."

Before the Fulham game, Rogers joked that Alonso "could probably still play in the Premier League" based on what he's seen from World Cup-winning Liverpool and Real Madrid icon on the training pitch, and although the situation is not that desperate for Chelsea yet, they will be worryingly short in the engine room if Fernandez does depart. James will likely be deployed as a right-sided centre-back more often than not, which leaves only Lavia, Caicedo and Jordan Henderson, who turned 36 before joining the club on a free transfer, to cover the middle of the pitch.

In an ideal world, Chelsea would sign a world-class midfielder and goalkeeper before their trip to face champions Arsenal on September 6, but as it stands, it's hard to see them laying down any sort of marker as title contenders at the Emirates. Although Alonso has enough quality at his disposal to continue delivering value for money to fans in terms of entertainment - led by a front line that is the envy of the rest of the Premier League - tangible success will be out of his reach, even with the huge advantage of fewer games due to no European football.