Zakaria out injured, Felix sees red on debut

Turbulent Chelsea bankruptcy

Zakaria out injured, Felix sees red on debut

Chelsea lose, Zakaria is injured and newcomer Felix is sent off. The catch-up game of the 7th game day in the Premier League degenerates into misery for the “Blues”.

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Joao Felix’s Chelsea debut lasted less than an hour.

Chelsea are still going strong in the Premier League. Coach Graham Potter’s team (47) lost 2-1 at Fulham in the catch-up game on Matchday 7, with Swiss international Denis Zakaria (26) having to be replaced injured in the 56th minute.

After the game, coach Graham Potter gives an initial update on the Geneva player’s injury: “The assessment so far is that it’s at the upper end of the quadriceps. But it is still too early to assess the extent.”

Felix makes horror debut

Meanwhile, Joao Felix has made an inglorious debut. The Portuguese, on loan from Atlético Madrid, can prick a few pins, but then flies off the field with a red card in the 58th minute. The 23-year-old is completely over-motivated in a duel.

The dismissal of the new signing is expensive for the “Blues” because Felix now has to watch the next three games. He will only be back on the pitch against West Ham on February 11th. As the British newspaper “Sun” calculates, the red card costs the club just under the equivalent of around 3.2 million francs.

On the one hand, it was agreed in the lending business that the Londoners would take over Felix’s salary, which is a good 280,000 francs a week, making 1.12 million for the next four weeks. Add to that the rental fee of 10.2 million over five months, which works out to just over 2 million per month.

Chelsea is not moving

In general, it is a used evening for Chelsea. The Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly equalized for the guests in the 47th minute, but the “Blues”, who were outnumbered at the time, had no answer to Carlos Vinicius’ 1: 2 (73rd). Potter’s conclusion: “It sums up where we are at the moment – everything that can go wrong, is going wrong right now.”

The London side have picked up just six points (one win) in their last nine league games and are 10th in the table. Promoted Fulham, where Kevin Mbabu is once again not in the squad, is convincing unhindered. With 31 points after 19 games, the “Cottagers” are in 6th place. (che/SDA)