On a sunny afternoon on the banks of the River Thames, the Eagles fought back to continue the good form against Fulham and securing their first victory of the new season.
MATCH INFORMATION
| 3 September 2026 – 3pm |
| Fulham 2-3 Crystal Palace |
| Craven Cottage |
| Premier League |
OFFICIALS
| Referee | Sam BARROTT |
| VAR | John BROOKS |
| Assistant Referees | Adam NUNN, Wade SMITH |
| Fourth Official | Tom REEVES |
| Assistant VAR | Oliver MACKEY |
PLAYER RATINGS
Crystal Palace
| 1 | Dean HENDERSON © | 7.2 |
| 25 | Anan KHALAILI | 7.3 |
| 3 | Tyrick MITCHELL | 8.1 |
| 5 | Axel DISASI | 7.2 |
| 26 | Chris RICHARDS | 6.6 |
| 6 | Jaydee CANVOT | 5.9 |
| 23 | Quinten TIMBER | 6.2 |
| 20 | Adam WHARTON | 6.5 |
| 18 | Daichi KAMADA | 6.6 |
| 10 | Yeremy PINO | 6.8 |
| 9 | Eddie NKETIAH | 6.5 |
| 12 | Zavier GOZO | – |
| 17 | Takehiro TOMIYASU | – |
| 19 | Will HUGHES (TIMBER 74 mins) | 6.2 |
| 22 | Jorgen STRAND LARSEN (NKETIAH 46 mins) | 6.6 |
| 24 | Dario OSORIO (KAMADA 89 mins) | 6.1 |
| 28 | Cheick DOUCOURE | – |
| 30 | Oscar MINGUEZA (PINO 89 mins) | 6.1 |
| 33 | Ben CHILWELL (MITCHELL 74 mins) | 6.9 |
| 44 | Walter BENITEZ | – |
Fulham
| 1 | Bernd LENO | 6.0 |
| 21 | Timothy CASTAGNE | 6.4 |
| 5 | Joachim ANDERSEN | 6.6 |
| 3 | Calvin BASSEY © | 6.1 |
| 33 | Antonee ROBINSON | 6.6 |
| 19 | Shea CHARLES | 6.3 |
| 17 | Alex IWOBI | 5.9 |
| 14 | Oscar BOBB | 7.2 |
| 24 | Josh KING | 7.7 |
| 8 | Cesar PALACIOS | 7.3 |
| 7 | Gonzalo GARCIA | 7.3 |
| 9 | Rodrigo MUNIZ (IWOBI 83 mins) | 6.3 |
| 11 | KEVIN | – |
| 15 | Hugo LARSSON (BOBB 79 mins) | 6.1 |
| 16 | Sander BERGE (PALACIOS 62 mins) | 6.0 |
| 20 | Manual ANGEL | – |
| 22 | David AFFENGRUBER | – |
| 23 | Benjamin LECOMTE | – |
| 30 | Ryan SESSEGNON (ROBINSON 79 mins) | 6.2 |
| 32 | Emile SMITH ROWE (CHARLES 79 mins) | 6.0 |
POST GAME QUOTES
PIERRE SAGE
“The fans give us their best whenever they are with us. We need points, and the strength the fans give us is important. The result is positive but I am aware of the game, but sometimes it is like this, you must take the points.
We didn’t play as we expected, I’m happy but disappointed for the other team and the coach because they had opportunities to win too.
I am not happy with the way we defended, we have a lot of things to move. The confidence from this result can help us. It’s like with a car, when you put petrol inside you can drive.”
TYRICK MITCHELL
“It was a tough game, they were leading and we had a lot to do, but I’m happy I could contribute and get the win. That was the first time I’ve been on a hat-trick, it felt weird but I’ve been trying to get into those positions more the past couple of seasons. The first goal Eddie passed to me and I heard him scream ‘shoot’. Second one was right place, right time, a fluke goal.”
ALVARO ARBELOA
“We didn’t deserve to lose the game. My players did everything, good attitude, they were brave, so many chances to score more goals. They took their chances, in the end football is about that.
We were unlucky, we had many chances. We did many good things to win the game, it was similar against Chelsea but we lose. For the players it’s a difficult situation, difficult moment, but I am very proud of them.”
MATCH STATISTICS
| Star Man | Tyrick MITCHELL 8.1) |
| Goals | Josh KING (11), Tyrick MITCHELL (35, 54), Cesar PALACIOS (42), Ben CHILWELL (77) |
| Assists | Eddie NKETIAH (35), Daichi KAMADA (77) |
| Most shots | Gonzalo GARCIA, Cesar PALACIOS (5) |
| Most tackles | Axel DISASI (4) |
| Most dribbles | Gonzalo GARCIA, Oscar BOBB, Josh KING (2) |
| Team rating | 6.49 – 6.67 |
| Total shots | 25 – 10 |
| Shots on target | 6 – 5 |
| Yellow cards | None |
| Red cards | None |
| Possession | 64.7% – 35.3% |
| Pass success | 89% – 78% |
| Passes | 672 – 369 |
| Dribbles | 9 – 4 |
| Aerials won | 8 – 14 |
| Tackles | 12 – 17 |
| Fouls | 6 – 7 |
| Corners | 7 – 1 |
| Saves | 2 – 5 |
| Dispossessed | 3 – 6 |
TEB VERDICT
The first win is on the board, and that is the most important thing at this early stage of the season.
Pierre Sage, while happy with the three points, made it quite clear that it was not a good performance. However, you must consider the positive points in that the players showed grit and togetherness to fight back twice from a goal down to peg back the hosts and push on to get the win.
There have been a lot of changes at the club in the last week. Now that the transfer window is closed, Sage knows exactly what he must work with, so the challenge is set with both Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta still to return to the line-up, both of which will be huge.
The defending at Craven Cottage was questionable, but the midfield needs to take some accountability. Time is needed for the players to gel together, particularly at the back where they will find some solidity, but this win will give the players a lot of confidence and certainly something to build on.
Big shout out to Tyrick Mitchell with an all-important brace, and the returning defender Ben Chilwell who replaced Mitchell and netted the winner – it was an afternoon all about the left-wing backs!
‘Sageball’ could be a whole lot of fun this season, but it will definitely age us if this game is anything to go by!
LEAGUE POSITION
| P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | ||
| 12 | Manchester United | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -4 | 3 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| 14 | Ipswich Town | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 3 |
UPCOMING FIXTURES
| DATE | TEAM | LOCATION | COMPETITION | KICK OFF TIME |
| 08/09/2026 | Middlesbrough | Home | EFL Cup | 7.45pm |
| 12/09/2026 | Ipswich Town | Home | Premier League | 3pm |
| 17/09/2026 | Lech Poznan | Home | Europa League | 8pm |
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