The River Thames was at low tide on Monday evening. Gulls and a lone heron stood stoically on banks of exposed grey shingle, scrutinising the pebbles for signs of sustenance. Fifty metres or so from the river bank, the Chelsea team bus disgorged its players and sent them into Craven Cottage to feed on what they could find.

A miserable season that cost two managers – Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior – their jobs in the space of a few months in the course of the last campaign and ended with the ignominy of a tenth-placed finish appeared, weirdly, only to have heightened expectations for what lies ahead.

Much of that optimism stems from the appointment of Xabi Alonso, whose reign at Real Madrid was short-lived but whose reputation still basks in the memory of how he led Bayer Leverkusen to their first and only Bundesliga title in 2023 without losing a match, humbling Bayern Munich in the process.

Some have even tipped Chelsea for the title, reasoning that last season’s mediocrity has brought the precious dividend of no European football and the luxury of being able to concentrate resources on domestic challenges. Stellar talents such as Cole Palmer and new £117m signing Morgan Rogers, the reasoning goes, will be fit and raring to go each week.

In the fifth year of the hitherto troubled BlueCo ownership, there have even been glimpses of a more coherent strategy emerging. After the trolley-dash approach of co-owner Todd Boehly and then the obsession with youth-as-resale, Chelsea have signed Jordan Henderson and Danny Welbeck, players – and leaders – who each have more than twice as many Premier League appearances as anyone else in the squad.

Chelsea may be leaky at the back but they can win the title with Cole Palmer 

Joao Pedro opened the scoring inside 30 seconds with a deft finish at Craven Cottage

Chelsea’s new look attacking trio were purring in the opening stages of Monday’s game

Fulham levelled when Roberto Sanchez allowed a Josh King strike in at his near post

The Fulham youngster celebrates after equalising for the hosts against their local rivals

If Chelsea can also conjure the magic trick of getting their money back for the thuggish, limited Enzo Fernandez by selling him to Manchester City before the transfer window closes, it will have been a profitable summer indeed. Even though injured Moises Caicedo did not make the opener, Fernandez was still only judged worthy of a place on the bench.

In this Chelsea-themed narrative, Fulham and their new manager Alvaro Arbeloa, an old friend and teammate of Alonso, were supposed to be sacrificial lambs in the west London derby. Even then, few expected Chelsea to establish their dominance with such brutal and unforgiving immediacy.

It took the visitors just 31 seconds to take the lead. Maxence Lacroix, another new signing, intercepted a long ball out of the Fulham defence and headed it back to the edge of the area. Palmer flicked it on, Joao Pedro seized on it and lifted a delicate finish over Bernd Leno. The Cottage was stunned into silence.

Chelsea almost let Fulham into the game immediately. Levi Colwill let a pass run under his foot and as Oscar Bobb nicked it past him and set off for goal, Colwill brought him down. The home crowd clamoured for a red card. Colwill escaped with a yellow. It could easily have gone the other way.

Gradually, Fulham clawed their way back into the game. Josh King let fly from distance and stung the fingers of Robert Sanchez with a shot that he could only spoon behind. King set up Cesar Palacios, who curled a shot over. Fulham’s belief grew.

Midway through the half, they were level. It was no surprise that King was the scorer. Once more, Chelsea gave him space to advance and when he rifled a shot towards the near post, Sanchez dived to save it but somehow allowed it to evade his grasp.

After all the signings Chelsea have made, they forgot to sign a new goalkeeper. It was the position they needed to strengthen most. We can add it to the list of mystery omissions that have so puzzled and infuriated Chelsea supporters these past few years.

Morgan Rogers put Chelsea back in front before the half time break with a cool finish

The £117million signing was on hand to find the net at Craven Cottage

The Chelsea star finished from a tight angle after a classy attacking move

But Chelsea handed their rivals another lifeline when a defensive error allowed Gonzalo Garcia to strike

Chelsea reasserted their superiority. Joao Pedro hooked a volley just wide, Reece James mishit a shot when he should have done better and Leno saved at point-blank range from Romeo Lavia. Through it all, the class of Palmer was a common denominator. His exclusion from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad felt like even more of an aberration by the time the interval arrived.

Chelsea made their superiority count five minutes before half-time when Palmer fed Lacroix and Lacroix showed just how good he is on the ball by turning his man inside out in the Fulham area and crossing low to the back post.

Rogers, on his competitive debut for his new side, was there to meet it and drilled his shot beyond a desperate attempt to hack it off the line. Rogers had had a fine half. Not quite as good as Palmer but close.

Palmer started the second half with a quite brilliant dribble that ended with a shot he curled just wide. A minute later, he burst into the Fulham box on the overlap and ran on to a pass from Joao Pedro. Palmer looked up and then threaded the ball between Leno’s legs for Chelsea’s third.

This game was not about to go quietly. Timothy Castagne got in behind Colwill and Sanchez could only push his shot back into the danger area. Fulham’s new £40m signing Gonzalo Garcia reacted fastest and nodded the ball back past the goalkeeper and in off the underside of the bar.

Fernandez came on, accompanied by a deafening chorus of boos, midway through the half. That was the main sport for Fulham fans until 12 minutes from the end when Antonee Robinson ran on to a long ball behind the Chelsea defence. With Sanchez stranded, Robinson lobbed him but directed the ball agonisingly wide.

Chelsea hung on for a 3-2 win but Palmer gave them a scare when he pulled up suddenly, clutching his calf. It looked like cramp. The title? Chelsea’s defence will have to improve but anything is possible if Palmer can stay fit and play like this.