Making his first full start for the Whites, Damien Duff lined up on the left side of midfield, with Clint Dempsey partnering Bobby Zamora up front in the absence of Andrew Johnson.

Both sides saw good early opportunities go begging. Clint Dempsey found himself in a surprising amount of space inside the Chelsea penalty area in the first minute but his shot on the turn was high, whilst moments later John Pantsil had to be aware to deny Drogba.

An edgy first quarter of the game saw neither side creating much in the way of chances; Chelsea looked at their most dangerous when running at the Whites' back line through the central midfield area, fortunately the Whites maintained their shape well and quickly quelled any attacking intentions.

Certainly the sweltering heat played its part in keeping the tempo of the encounter somewhat subdued with both sides looking to take their time in possession – creating more of a tactical battle than a blood and thunder local derby.

With the first-half drawing to as close Carlo Ancelotti’s men were starting to increase the pressure on the Fulham back line although Mark Schwarzer had yet to be seriously tested.

Didier Drogba opened the scoring on 38 minutes after he was played in behind the Fulham defence by Nicolas Anelka. The Whites failed to deal with a Frank Lampard run through the middle, allowing Anelka time to thread a pass through to Drogba, who had just stayed onside. The striker had more than enough time to pick his spot and drill a low shot past Mark Schwarzer. The fact that the goal was also the first shot on target from either side was indicative of the game’s tentative nature.

Fulham started the second-half looking far more incisive in attack, however Chelsea looked content to slow the pace of the game and use the threats of Drogba and Anelka to keep Fulham’s back line occupied.

Roy Hodgson replaced Zoltan Gera with Diomansy Kamara on 62 minutes as the Whites looked for a way back into the game. The substitution saw Kamara join Bobby Zamora up front with Clint Dempsey moving to the right wing.

An injury to Danny Murphy shortly before the 70 minute mark ended his participation in the match as Chris Baird replaced the Fulham skipper in the middle of the park. Hodgson made his final change of the match on 74 minutes, replacing Bobby Zamora with Erik Nevland.

Chelsea scored their second of the game on 76 minutes through Nicolas Anelka. The Chelsea striker kept himself onside and when Fulham failed to successfully clear a long ball, Anelka was in position to run on to Drogba’s through-pass, round Schwarzer and roll the ball into the net.

The goal effectively ended Fulham’s’ chances of taking any points from the game.