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Álvaro Arbeloa's competitive tenure as Fulham manager did not get off to a desired start, with his side conceding a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, managed by Xabi Alonso, the man who Arbeloa replaced at Real Madrid halfway through last season. Yet, there were many promising signs for a competitive Fulham side to take away. Bernd Leno - 5 Leno is once again Fulham’s starting goalkeeper for the fifth straight season, with the German having been a reliable shotstopper for the Cottagers for just shy of half a decade. He made three saves during the match, including a good close-range stop to deny Roméo Lavia when the scores were level. There was very little he could do with Chelsea’s goals, though the last of the three goals Fulham conceded was slipped through his legs. Antonee Robinson - 6 Robinson was caught well out of position for the Blues’ opening goal, which came in the first minute of the match, but produced an important early block from Morgan Rogers and was pivotal in Fulham’s counterattacks. He also got a golden opportunity to equalise with a one-on-one against Robert Sanchez, but his shot was scuffed. Jorge Cuenca - 5 Cuenca looked promising when launching balls forward and starting the attack in what led to Garcia’s goal. Yet, he struggled to deal with Chelsea’s front three and was at fault for Chelsea’s second goal when he failed to stop Maxence Lacroix’s cross. Calvin Bassey - 6 The Nigerian was given the slightly harder task of playing as a right centre-back as a left-footer, and despite not having his best performance in a Fulham shirt, he looked better than his centre-back partner. Though disappointingly, he was booked for diving. Timothy Castagne - 7 The right-back opened the new season with an assist to his name, when he assisted Josh King’s equaliser that beat Sanchez in a shot where there are many questions asked of the Spanish goalkeeper. Not only was he pivotal in Fulham’s first goal of the season, but he also played a key part in Álvaro Arbeloa's side's second goal, when his spot was parried out for Gonzalo García to score. Sander Berge - 5 It was quite a hard match for Berge to control the temp of, with Chelsea’s midfield overpowering that of Arbeloa's side. His double pivot alongside Iwobi was shown not to have worked when he was substituted for Ryan Sessegnon. Josh King - 8 King was unarguably Fulham’s best player on the night, changing the course of the match early on when he caught out Sanchez at the near post from just inside the box when he put Fulham on level terms again. He was also pivotal in creating chances for the Cottagers, almost getting his second goal and second equaliser of the match when he had a well-struck shot from range in the latter end of the second half. César Palacios - 6 Palacios will grow to be an exciting player for Fulham, which was evident in this match. The former Real Madrid youngster failed to cover Robinson for Chelsea’s first goal, yet massively grew in confidence the more the game progressed, with a shot from range just going over the crossbar being an early example of his growing confidence in the second half. Alex Iwobi - 6 Iwobi provided Fulham with great moments in possession and had better control of the tempo during the match. He also provided that physical presence during the match with was a key difference in Fulham’s midfield. Oscar Bobb - 7 Much like Palacios, Bobb grew into the game, with most of Fulham’s joy coming down his side. Bobb was also great in linking up with teammates, though he was subbed after his influence on the match started to wear off. Gonzalo García - 7 García, much like his time and breakthrough at Real Madrid, is an exciting player to watch and made himself a focal point in Fulham’s attack with constant runs. Most notably, he scored Fulham’s second of the evening when he reacted quickest to Castagne’s parried effort with his header creeping in through the underside of the crossbar. Substitutes (Shea Charles - 6, Ryan Sessegnon - 6) The latter had one of two shots to test Sanchez in the Chelsea goal, but both players were unable to change the course of the match. This was Charles’ Premier League debut after his summer transfer from Southampton, where Fulham will hope he can be as crucial as he was for Tonda Eckert’s side last season. Fulham will hope that their first points of the season come in the next league match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.