Joao Felix took just 107 seconds to show quality to Chelsea fans as Arsenal taunted

Joao Felix did not take long to win over Chelsea fans on his debut for the club against Fulham on Thursday night.

Felix left Atletico Madrid and joined the Blues on loan for the rest of the season for a fee of €11million (£9.7m) on Wednesday. A day later and he was thrust into the spotlight for Chelsea’s local derby against an in-form Fulham side at Craven Cottage.

The 23-year-old forward left Madrid after falling out with manager Diego Simeone and is relishing the opportunity of a fresh start in London. That was clear right from the off in his Premier League debut.

Skill is to be expected from a player who cost Atleti £113m from Benfica in 2019, but it was still very much admired by the Chelsea fans who made the very short journey across west London for the occasion.

The match was still inside the first two minutes when Felix gave his new supporters an indication of what he will bring to Graham Potter’s side. Receiving a pass down the line on the right-hand side, Felix casually nutmegged the onrushing Tim Ream before picking out Kai Havertz with a low cross.

Havertz’s effort was blocked and the move came to nothing. But it was the perfect way for Felix to introduce himself – and Chelsea’s fans did not take long to put Felix’s name into a chant which also managed to poke fun at Arsenal, who were interested in the Portugal international but missed out on the signing.

“Joao Felix, he comes from Portugal, he hates the Arsenal,” the chant came from the away end at Craven Cottage.

There were a few more bright sparks from Felix during the first half, with a shot going wide of the near post after a pass from Mateo Kovacic and another heading straight into the gloves of Bernd Leno. Another great-looking chance appeared to have gone begging when Felix failed to get a toe onto a cross, but he was quickly flagged for offside.

Ultimately, though, Felix’s first 45 minutes in the Premier League won’t be remembered that fondly by Chelsea fans, considering the scoreline. Trevoh Chalobah was at fault at the other end as former Blues winger Willian fired into the bottom corner via a deflection to give Fulham a 1-0 lead at the break.

The pressure is mounting on Potter, who will be desperate for Felix to step up in the second half and settle the derby in Chelsea’s favour. He is certainly confident he has the ability to do so.

“He’s a quality player,” Potter said on Wednesday. “He will make a difference in the final third of the pitch and I’m looking forward to working with him. He’s young, but still has lots of good experience and it’s given us all a bit of a lift.

“I’ve been aware of the potential deal for a while but the injuries we’ve had maybe sharpened our focus on it. But it’s nice to get him here and he’s been training today, which is positive for us.”