Cole Palmer turned in a man-of-the-match performance against Fulham to get new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso's reign off to a flying start.
Palmer missed out on England selection for the World Cup, but he will surely now be back in Thomas Tuchel's thoughts for next month's Uefa Nations League fixtures.
The 24-year-old set up the opener for Joao Pedro, 31 seconds into the match at Craven Cottage with a nonchalant flick.
Morgan Rogers, who signed for the Blues in a British-record transfer this summer, marked his league bow with a goal from a cutback by Maxence Lacroix, another debutant, just before the break.
Fulham's teenage midfielder Josh King levelled in the first half with a fizzing shot that beat Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez at his near post.
Palmer restored Chelsea's two-goal lead four minutes after the break. After receiving a pass from Joao Pedro, Palmer shaped as if he was going to lay the ball off for a teammate, and with Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno wrong-footed, calmly slotted past the German.
Gonzalo Garcia, a summer recruit from Real Madrid, scored his first Fulham goal in the 54th minute, but Chelsea did enough to hang on for all three points.
“It was a very professional performance,” Alonso said. “The game had defined momentum; to win away in the Premier League, you know, normally it’s really tough. We were prepared to manage the game emotionally as well. It’s a good one to build for the future.”
On Palmer's performance, the Spaniard added: “I’ve really enjoyed his performance. He has played with responsibility, maturity, and freedom. That’s important that we get the best from Cole. If we want to have a good team, we need a great Cole.”
Captain Enzo Fernandez was kept out of the starting XI amid reports that Manchester City are circling back on the Argentine midfielder.
When he was introduced as a second-half substitute for Romeo Lavia, he was greeted with a chorus of boos from a sizable contingent of the travelling support.
“In football I am not surprised by anything," Alonso said of the Chelsea fans booing Fernandez. On the Argentine's future, he responded: "We will see. I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the future.”
New Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa took heart from his side's performance in the 3-2 defeat and said it typified the character he wants to see from his players this season.
"I think we keep improving and that will take time. But it's the first game of the season and I have been seeing all the games in the Premier League and you can feel that no one is ready," the former Real Madrid boss said.
"But I saw tonight the energy that I want to see, the high press that we want to make. And like I said to my players, we are going to play in this way and we're going to try to play in this way no matter who is in front of us."
