New Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior watched from the stands as Harry Wilson’s strike condemned his team to defeat against west London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Rosenior was not appointed in time to take charge but took a watching brief and may have feared the worst when Marc Cucurella was sent off early on.
Chelsea fell behind to Raul Jimenez’s header after 55 minutes, but Rory Delap levelled after the ball rebounded off the post from a corner routine.
With nine minutes remaining, Wilson beat Jorrel Hato with a smart touch just inside the penalty area before half-volleying the ball into the left corner beyond Robert Sanchez.
However, under caretaker manager Calum McFarlane, Chelsea had been left with a mountain to climb from the 22nd minute when Cucurella pulled down Wilson and was shown the red card for a professional foul.
It was Chelsea’s eighth dismissal of the season, including one for former boss Enzo Maresca who was deemed to be over-celebrating in October after a last-minute winner against Liverpool.
There was anger in the away end, with a ‘BlueCo out’ banner displayed and chants against the ownership as they watched on alongside their new appointment Rosenior.
Defeat means Chelsea fall to seventh place in the Premier League, below Brentford, while Fulham join them on 31 points from 21 games.
