Our attacker produced a moment of magic to put us ahead in a first half we dominated against our west London neighbours.

However, as the game wore on, Fulham grew into proceedings, and they conjured up two late goals to leave Stamford Bridge with a victory for the first time in 45 years. Palmer acknowledged it was a brief spell that cost us another home win.

‘It’s football, it happens. We lost control for 20 minutes and they scored two,’ said Palmer.

‘We were winning for the majority of the game, but to lose at the end is difficult. First half we played well. We controlled the game. We had quite a few chances.

‘Second half we seemed to lose a bit of control. They are a good transition team, they like to run, direct, so we got caught with their game and we paid the price.

‘I don’t think we lost energy or intensity, like the manager said we just lost control of the game, and we turned it into a game they’re better than us at. We need to try and manage the game a bit better.’

With it being the festive period, there is little time for the Blues to dwell on this rare setback. We travel to Ipswich on Monday evening seeking a quick return to winning ways.

‘It’s a good opportunity to learn, rest, recover, and play in three days,’ stressed Palmer.

‘We just keep going now. We knew we weren’t going to win every single game we play. It’s the manager’s first season with us and we’re learning.

‘Everyone has said from the start we’re not a title contender, we’re just playing, winning, getting better as a team, growing, and that’s what we’re doing.’