By Monsurah Olatunji
Nigeria international Alex Iwobi was on the scoresheet again for Fulham, but his first-half strike wasn’t enough to prevent a 2–1 home defeat to Chelsea in a dramatic London derby on Sunday.
Fulham dominated early proceedings and thought they had found the breakthrough in the fourth minute, only for VAR to chalk off the effort.
Their persistence eventually paid off as Iwobi opened the scoring after capitalizing on a sloppy pass from Reece James. The Super Eagles midfielder coolly slotted home with his left foot into the bottom corner to give the Cottagers a deserved lead.
The goal marked Iwobi’s ninth in the Premier League this season, his most prolific campaign yet in English football. The 27-year-old has also provided five assists in 31 starts, surpassing his previous records at Arsenal and Everton.
Despite Fulham’s solid defensive performance throughout the second half, Chelsea found their rhythm late on. Tyrique George, a Nigerian-British teenager, equalized in the 83rd minute with a composed finish to mark his first-ever Premier League goal.
With Fulham reeling, Chelsea snatched victory deep into stoppage time as Pedro Neto struck in the 93rd minute, sealing all three points for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
The win lifts Chelsea to fifth place in the Premier League standings, just a point behind Manchester City, and keeps their Champions League qualification hopes very much alive.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
