Pedro has scored more Premier League goals in 12 appearances this season (5) than he managed in 31 league games in 2017-18 (4)
Chelsea held off a spirited Fulham side to claim a valuable victory and move up to third in the Premier League.
The Blues took the lead early on when Pedro slotted home from N'Golo Kante's pass and they could have had more in the first half had Sergio Rico not twice denied Olivier Giroud.
Fulham threatened to find an equaliser in the second half as Chelsea struggled for fluency, but substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek made the win safe when he fired past Rico after an intricate passing move with Eden Hazard and Pedro.
Defeat for Fulham means they stay bottom of the table, having claimed only one point from a possible 24 away from home this season.
Blues unbeaten home run continues
Chelsea bounced back from defeat by Tottenham with an emphatic 4-0 Europa League win over PAOK Salonika on Thursday, and they followed that up with another, albeit more laboured, victory against Fulham.
It took Pedro just four minutes to break the deadlock as he tucked away Chelsea's 1,000th Premier League goal at Stamford Bridge and that set the tone for the first half.
The hosts dominated possession in the first half and they could have easily had a second on 24 minutes when Giroud, who netted a double in midweek, saw his low effort blocked by Rico.
And the Spain goalkeeper was there to foil the Frenchman again on the brink of half-time, as he saved Giroud's sliding effort from Cesar Azpilicueta's cross.
However, Sarri's team were unable to play with the same fluidity in the second period and they did not seriously test Rico again until Marcos Alonso's whipped free-kick was saved on the hour mark.
Second-half substitute Alvaro Morata then spurned a golden opportunity after 73 minutes when he fired over with the goal gaping after Rico had parried Hazard's low strike.
But fellow replacement Loftus-Cheek was on hand to net Chelsea's second of the game, and save Morata's blushes, when he scored his fifth in his past six games with eight minutes remaining.
The Blues' victory means they are now unbeaten at Stamford Bridge in 14 matches in all competitions, a run which stretches back to April.
More to follow.
- Follow reaction to Chelsea 2-0 Fulham here
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Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text
Line-ups
Chelsea
1Arrizabalaga
28AzpilicuetaBooked at 69mins
2Rüdiger
30David Luiz
3AlonsoSubstituted forZappacostaat 78'minutes
7Kanté
5Jorginho
17KovacicSubstituted forLoftus-Cheekat 67'minutes
11Pedro
18GiroudSubstituted forMorataat 70'minutesBooked at 83mins
10E Hazard
Substitutes
4Fàbregas
12Loftus-Cheek
13Caballero
21Zappacosta
22Willian
27Christensen
29Morata
Fulham
25Rico
22Christie
4OdoiBooked at 54mins
26Mawson
20Le Marchand
24Seri
5Chambers
8JohansenSubstituted forAyitéat 45'minutes
10CairneySubstituted forKebanoat 76'minutes
9Mitrovic
3R SessegnonSubstituted forKamaraat 45'minutes
Substitutes
1Bettinelli
7Kebano
11Ayité
13Ream
23Bryan
44Cissé
47Kamara
Referee:
Craig Pawson
Match Stats
Home TeamChelseaAway TeamFulham
Possession
Home66%
Away34%
Shots
Home16
Away9
Shots on Target
Home9
Away4
Corners
Home4
Away6
Fouls
Home8
Away17
Live Text
Posted at
Match ends, Chelsea 2, Fulham 0.
Full TimePosted at 90'+4'
Second Half ends, Chelsea 2, Fulham 0.
Posted at 90'+3'
Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Posted at 90'+3'
Attempt blocked. Cyrus Christie (Fulham) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jean Michael Seri.
Posted at 90'+2'
César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 90'+2'
Foul by Aboubakar Kamara (Fulham).
Posted at 90'+1'
Attempt missed. Aboubakar Kamara (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Calum Chambers.
Posted at 90'
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Neeskens Kebano.
Posted at 88'
Corner, Fulham. Conceded by Antonio Rüdiger.
Posted at 86'
Attempt blocked. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Posted at 86'
Álvaro Morata (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at 86'
Foul by Jean Michael Seri (Fulham).
Posted at 84'
Offside, Fulham. Maxime Le Marchand tries a through ball, but Floyd Ayité is caught offside.
Posted at 84'
Attempt saved. Jean Michael Seri (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Maxime Le Marchand.
BookingPosted at 83'
Álvaro Morata (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card.
Posted at 83'
Foul by Álvaro Morata (Chelsea).
Posted at 83'
Alfie Mawson (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!Posted at 82'
Goal! Chelsea 2, Fulham 0. Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Eden Hazard.
Posted at 80'
Attempt saved. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Posted at 79'
Eden Hazard (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at 79'
Foul by Cyrus Christie (Fulham).
Posted at 79'
Attempt missed. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Alfie Mawson with a headed pass.
SubstitutionPosted at 78'
Substitution, Chelsea. Davide Zappacosta replaces Marcos Alonso because of an injury.
Posted at 77'
Attempt blocked. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Posted at 76'
David Luiz (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 76'
Foul by Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham).
SubstitutionPosted at 76'
Substitution, Fulham. Neeskens Kebano replaces Tom Cairney.
Posted at 74'
César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 74'
Foul by Floyd Ayité (Fulham).
Posted at 73'
Attempt missed. Álvaro Morata (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is too high.
Posted at 73'
Attempt saved. Eden Hazard (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
Posted at 71'
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 71'
Foul by Aboubakar Kamara (Fulham).
SubstitutionPosted at 70'
Substitution, Chelsea. Álvaro Morata replaces Olivier Giroud.
BookingPosted at 69'
César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Posted at 69'
Foul by César Azpilicueta (Chelsea).
Posted at 69'
Tom Cairney (Fulham) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
SubstitutionPosted at 67'
Substitution, Chelsea. Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaces Mateo Kovacic.
Posted at 66'
Foul by César Azpilicueta (Chelsea).
Posted at 66'
Maxime Le Marchand (Fulham) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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goal
Source: bbc.com