Fulham v Chelsea thriller and the Lacroix madness

The officials have not exactly helped the flow of this either because once a game gets this frantic every little decision feels like it matters twice as much and it just drains any chance of rhythm, you can see both teams trying to press and counter and then the whistle goes and the whole thing stops dead, and maybe that suits one side more than the other but it is still maddening when the match is finally giving us proper entertainment and it keeps getting chopped up, I know people want consistency but this has felt like the sort of game where the referee is just trying to survive it rather than actually let it breathe and that always ends up annoying everyone
 
Some people will still tell you this is all just random end to end nonsense but it is not really, Chelsea are creating the extra man in the right areas and Palmer is the one making the whole thing tick, Fulham keep getting dragged out and then punished for it and that is why it looks so messy
 
There is a decent tactical point here before everyone just turns it into pure meme football talk. Chelsea look much better when Palmer is receiving on the half turn and when the movement around him is quick enough to stop Fulham setting their shape, and Fulham in turn are getting punished because they are not protecting the space between the lines well enough. But then again football always does this thing where one half of the conversation is about structure and the other half is about a defender suddenly acting like a winger and a keeper looking like he has never seen a ball before, and that is why everyone is losing it because the game is giving you both the serious analysis and the complete nonsense at the same time
 
Chelsea have clearly found something with Palmer in this role and it is making the whole side look more fluid. Fulham are still trying to press and compete, but every time the game opens up Chelsea seem to have more composure and then suddenly it all becomes chaos anyway and I am now fully invested and also slightly unwell because this is ridiculous
 
Chelsea have more control when Palmer drifts and receives between the lines, and Fulham are struggling to deal with that movement. Still, the game is so open that one more mistake could swing it either way imo
 
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