Oscar the Preferred One... and Mikel the Surprised One!

Two second half goals from Oscar and Mikel were enough to see Chelsea past Fulham on Saturday.



Chelsea rebounded from their worst start to a league season in 10 years by grinding out a victory over Fulham.

Oscar and John Mikel Obi scored second-half goals as the Blues moved top of the Premier League on goal difference.

The visitors created the best chance of a dour first half but Darren Bent shot straight at Blues keeper Petr Cech.

Oscar settled Chelsea's nerves with a close-range finish before Mikel hooked in his first league goal in 185 games to end a four-game winless run.

The result took Chelsea above Liverpool at the top of the table, although any one of Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City or Manchester United could leapfrog the Blues on Sunday.

Following successive defeats by Everton and Basel, manager Jose Mourinho said he wanted to improve Chelsea's style of play but there was little sign of a dramatic change in an unconvincing performance from the hosts.

With Spanish playmaker Juan Mata not deemed worthy of a place in the Blues squad, there was precious little guile about the home side's attacks, with Eto'o largely ineffective before being replaced by Fernando Torres in the second half.

Chelsea were, nonetheless, deserving winners against a Fulham side that looked tired in the final half hour and have now not won a match since the first game of the season.