Alvaro Arbeloa was left to rue costly mistakes by his Fulham team as his Premier League debut ended in defeat to Xabi Alonso's Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Monday. 

Fulham were beaten 3-2 by their London rivals, and fell behind after just 31 seconds when Joao Pedro raced on to Cole Palmer's pass before lifting the ball over Bernd Leno. 

Josh King hauled Fulham level in the 23rd minute, only for Morgan Rogers to net a debut goal just before the break after good work from Maxence Lacroix down the right. 

Chelsea pulled further clear four minutes after the restart through Palmer, but Gonzalo Garcia reduced the deficit soon after with a debut goal from inside the penalty area. 

Fulham had their chances to snatch a point, with Antonee Robinson lobbing Robert Sanchez but just wide of the mark as the Cottagers were dealt a defeat on matchday one. 

The Cottagers have now lost their opening game in four of their last seven seasons in the Premier League (W1 D2), and Arbeloa knew where his team went wrong. 

"We concede goals in the first minute, the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half and there are no worse moments to concede," Arbeloa conceded.

"But we showed character and personality, and I am very proud of how my players responded.

"We deserved a little bit more, but football is not about what you deserve, it is about what you take.

"If you lose against a team like Chelsea, they [should] have to do a little bit more.

"For me, they are easy goals for them and mistakes we cannot make. We need to improve and be more ready in the first minute, that is for sure.

"We are on our way and we will keep improving. The first thing I want to see is a competitive team.

"We were tonight, we tried our best and tried to play our football against a team like Chelsea, which is not easy."

An outstanding atmosphere at our Cottage.

Thank you for your support this evening, Fulham fam. pic.twitter.com/Sd5WIqZorQ

— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) August 24, 2026

Arbeloa did, however, have room for optimism for his young team, with Garcia, King, Oscar Bobb and Cesar Palacios starting against Chelsea. 

Garcia, who joined from Real Madrid this summer, became the first player to score on his Premier League debut for Fulham since Chris David in May 2014 vs Crystal Palace.

King, meanwhile, became the third Fulham player to net multiple goals as a teenager in the Premier League (two), along with Collins John (nine) and Ryan Sessegnon (two).

He was also the first teenager to score on MD1 for any club since 18-year-old Evan Ferguson for Brighton in 2023-24.

"I believe in them and I believe in young players. I think they have the energy and ambition I want, and they fit in the way I play. Josh King is absolutely amazing," Arbeloa added.

"What a player you have here, and I am really happy with him. Gonzalo [Garcia] scored and Cesar [Palacios] did well.

"I think they need a bit more time, but they are doing great and making an impact already."