Chelsea 1 - 0 Fulham

Michael Essien's first-half header was enough to give 10-man Chelsea victory over west London rivals Fulham and keep them top of the Premier League table.



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Florent Malouda's pinpoint cross into the six-yard box was met firmly by the Ghanaian midfielder, who planted the ball into the bottom corner.

However, Essien was shown a red card in the final moment of injury-time for a two-footed lunge on Clint Dempsey.

Salomon Kalou wasted three gilt-edged chances to increase Chelsea's lead and the leaders had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank late on when he tipped Dempsey's 25-yard shot over the bar.

Chelsea were quickly on top in the opening exchanges as Fulham struggled to get the ball off their hosts. The Blues earned a succession of corners but failed to take advantage of their early superiority.

In the 17th minute, Dempsey tried his luck from the edge of the penalty area but the ball was partially blocked by Chelsea captain John Terry, which allowed Cech to make an easy save.

Chelsea responded immediately but Kalou sent a cross straight into the arms of Mark Schwarzer as the Cottagers continued to frustrate the home side.

Fulham defender Matthew Briggs sent a low, 25-yard drive straight at Cech in the 22nd minute and then, moments later, Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi stung Schwarzer's hands with a rising drive from a similar distance.

Didier Drogba tested Schwarzer in the 28th minute with an angled 30-yard free-kick before Chelsea broke the deadlock on the half-hour when Kalou's cross was headed down and into the net by Essien.

The goal was scored while Drogba lay injured inside the penalty area and he required treatment before the game could restart.

Chelsea continued to threaten but the final ball was often poor, much to the consternation of coach Carlo Ancelotti on the touchline.

Five minutes before half-time Malouda brought a fine save from Schwarzer and then seconds later Kalou was just a foot wide of the target when he burst into the area.

Fulham left-back Briggs kept the visitors in the game when he cleared the ball off the toes of Kalou at the far post seconds before the interval.

Chelsea should have added a second in the 55th minute Kalou when waltzed through the Fulham defence only to see his shot half-saved by Schwarzer.

That did enough to take the pace off the ball and, as it rolled towards the net, Aaron Hughes ran back to clear off the line.

Fulham replaced Dickson Etuhu in the 62nd minute with striker Andrew Johnson as they looked for a way back into the game. Etuhu's last action had been to put his knee into the back of Essien, who required lengthy treatment before continuing.

Essien recovered sufficiently to fire a 25-yard shot high into the crowd in the 66th minute.

Seconds later, Malouda nicked the ball off the toes of Schwarzer but Drogba's shot was cleared by Briggs with the goal at his mercy.

Chelsea continued to pile forward and Essien put Drogba clear but the Ivory Coast striker hesitated enough for Fulham to clear the danger.

Chelsea then had three successive chances to score. First Malouda's shot was saved by Schwarzer and then Mikel's shot on the rebound was again punched clear by the Fulham goalkeeper.

Finally, Branislav Ivanovic crossed for Hughes to clear as Drogba looked to score from six yards.

Fulham substitute Zoltan Gera was unlucky not to level the scores in the 82nd minute when his 20-yard volley had to be punched clear by Cech.

And Chelsea's evening was marred by a straight red for Essien for a two-footed lunge on Dempsey in the final minute of injury time.

Carlo Ancelotti will watch replays of Michael Essien's challenge on Clint Dempsey before deciding whether or not to appeal against the red card issued to the Ghana midfielder.

"I don't like to judge the decision,'' said Ancelotti. "But I can say that maybe it was not a red card because Essien made a strong tackle, but on the ball.

"There was not a risk on the opponent. I think he went for the ball, the last ball of the game, an important ball. I don't think he did a silly foul. He tried to do a tackle, he won the tackle. And I'm not sure it was a sending-off.

"I'd like to see it again but directly, on the pitch, I didn't think it was a dangerous tackle. I hope we won't lose him for three games. That would be a problem if we lose him for three games. We have to wait, I think. I want to watch the replay before doing anything."

Ancelotti was pleased with the way his team responded to their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.

"It was a good performance," he said. "We started well from the beginning with a high tempo during the game. The first half was very good and we had good control in the second half. We had a little problem at the end, but this is normal.

"When you are just 1-0 up it's more difficult to control the game. We played well continuously over the course of the game, so it was a good performance."

Fulham boss Mark Hughes believed the red card issued to Essien was justified, and he also called into question Chelsea's goal.

"The guy has jumped in with two feet, so it's a straight red,'' declared Hughes. "As for the goal, that's a disappointment from our point of view. We were distracted by Drogba lying prone in the box.

"You still have to play to the whistle, so maybe we were guilty of expecting the referee to blow up. He didn't and we paid the penalty. It's confusing the way the game is viewed in terms of when players go down: are they faking, and do you kick the ball out?

"We had that in the second half when we had the ball in a promising position, and ended up having the ball put out near our goal-line. Which was a bit ungentlemanly.

"I was pleased with the second-half performance. We showed belief. As the game progressed, we started to make more of an influence in the game and had two great efforts on goal.

"A goalkeeper with less ability than Petr Cech would have struggled to keep them out. We took the game to Chelsea in the second half and, with a bit of luck, might have got back on level terms.

"But I'm pleased we responded in that second half. I've been to games here where teams have gone under very quickly because they didn't show the qualities needed. My team did show that quality."