September 5 2026

Ben Chilwell celebrates scoring Palace's winner

Ben Chilwell marked his return to Crystal Palace with the winning goal as the Eagles twice came from behind to beat Fulham 3-2 and give Pierre Sage his first victory as Palace head coach.

Palace found themselves behind early at Craven Cottage when teenager Josh King's effort took a deflection on its way into the net. The Eagles responded through an unlikely source, with Tyrick Mitchell getting forward from left wing-back to finish from close range and bring the visitors level.

Fulham restored their advantage before half-time through summer signing Cesar Palacios, who scored his first goal for the club to send Palace into the interval trailing 2-1. However, the Eagles responded quickly after the restart, with Mitchell again at the heart of the action. Fulham failed to clear after his initial effort and the ball eventually trickled over the line to give the Palace defender his second of the afternoon.

Sage then introduced Chilwell in place of Mitchell, just days after the 29-year-old completed his permanent return to Selhurst Park following a season with Strasbourg. The substitution paid off almost immediately.

Within three minutes of coming on, Chilwell pounced on a loose ball after Fulham failed to clear a Palace attack and thumped his effort home to complete the turnaround and mark his second Eagles debut in perfect fashion.

Palace held on to secure all three points and a first victory under Sage, having shown plenty of character to recover from going behind on two occasions. For Chilwell, it was a memorable return to the club where he helped the Eagles lift the FA Cup during his previous spell in South London.

Fulham: Leno, Robinson (Sessegnon, 79), Bassey, Andersen, Castagne, Iwobi (Rodrigo Muniz, 83), Charles (Smith Rowe, 79), César Palacios (Berge, 62), King, Bobb (Larsson, 79), Gonzalo García

Palace: Henderson, Canvot, Disasi, Richards, Mitchell (Chilwell, 74), Wharton, Timber (Hughes, 74), Khalaili, Yéremy Pino (Óscar Mingueza, 89), Kamada (Osorio, 89), Nketiah (Strand Larsen, 46)