Joao Pedro breaks Chelsea’s No9 curse in just 31 seconds with historic goal in blistering start to season

JOAO PEDRO broke Chelsea’s No9 curse after just 31 SECONDS. The striker gave new boss Xabi Alonso the dream start in their Premier League opener at Fulham. Joao Pedro scored after just 31 seconds at Fulham Credit: Reuters The Brazilian took the No9 shirt off Liam Delap for this season Credit: Reuters After winning the ball, Chelsea swept through the Cottagers’ defence. Cole Palmer fed Pedro and the Brazilian – who signed a new eight-year contract on Saturday – dinked brilliantly over Bernd Leno to open the scoring. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! And it was the perfect response to any worries about him taking the infamous No9 shirt off Liam Delap for this season. The ‘curse’ dates back more than 20 years. Mateja Kezman, Hernan Crespo, Khalid Boulahrouz, Steve Sidwell, Franco Di Santo, Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, Tammy Abraham, Romelu Lukaku, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Delap have been the previous incumbents – but all struggled for goals in the so-called goalscorer’s jersey. In 2025-26, Delap managed just one Premier League goal in the No9 following his £30million transfer from Ipswich. Ironically, that came at Craven Cottage – but in a 2-1 defeat to Fulham back in January. And just minutes before kick-off on Monday night, news broke that Delap is closing in on a £40m transfer exit to Nottingham Forest – a £10m profit for Chelsea. Most read in Football CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Delap endured a difficult first season at Stamford Bridge Credit: Getty Pedro’s instant goal with just 31 seconds on the clock broke the record as the quickest finish ever on the opening matchday of a Premier League season. As well as matching Delap’s Prem total of one, the goal also saw Palmer match his assists tally from the entirety of last term within half a minute of this campaign. But while Alonso could not have wished for a better beginning to his reign as Chelsea boss, his opposite number must have been seething. Alonso’s pal Alvaro Arbeloa was taking charge of his first game as Fulham boss but had a face of thunder with the nightmare start. He looked happier on 23 minutes, though, when Josh King fired the Cottagers level. Comment now