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Fulham 3-1 Chelsea
A strong Fulham side sent Chelsea to a second consecutive defeat in the Barclays U21 Premier League while gaining their second victory in the competition at a wet Craven Cottage.
Kerim Frei, Philippe Senderos and Ashkan Dejagah were named in the Fulham XI by manager Kit Symons, as well as Mickael Tavares, whose signing on a short-term deal was confirmed earlier in the day.
After an even opening period Charles Banya gave the home side the lead with a volley from Senderos’s long ball.
The lead did not last for long as Chelsea levelled before the break when Fulham goalkeeper Csaba Somogyi was unable to stop Billy Clifford’s free kick. But the home side went back ahead when Frei robbed the ball, rounded the Chelsea goalkeeper and fed Marcello Trotta to slot home.
Senderos and Dejagah were withdrawn at half-time but Fulham were not weakened and extended their lead three minutes after half-time when Frei and Trotta again combined with the latter heading in the former’s free kick.
Chelsea almost halved the deficit twice when free kicks from Lucas Piazon and Lewis Baker hit a post but ultimately they could not prevent Fulham from victory.
“I’m very pleased as it was a decent performance,” Symons told fulhamfc.com. “Obviously we had a few senior players out there so it was good to get the win.”
Full report at chelseafc.com report
Premierleague.com will have more information on Monday's fixtures over the weekend.
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GROUP 3
Fulham 3-1 Chelsea
Monday, October 8th, 2012
GROUP 1
Arsenal v Reading, Barnet FC (7pm)
Blackburn Rovers v West Ham United Leigh Sports Village (7pm)
Bolton Wanderers v West Bromwich Albion, Reebok Stadium (7pm)
Norwich City v Everton, Carrow Road (7pm)
GROUP 2
Aston Villa v Newcastle United, Villa Park (7pm)
Manchester United v Southampton, Altrincham FC (7pm)
Stoke City v Sunderland, Britannia Stadium (7.30pm)
GROUP 3
Middlesbrough v Liverpool, Riverside Stadium (7pm)
Tuesday, October 9th, 2012
GROUP 3
Manchester City v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Etihad Stadium (7pm)
For all the fixtures and the latest league tables, click here
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You can follow developments on Twitter with the Premier League's account @premierleague or via the hashtag #BU21PL
