Fulham 0 Chelsea 0
West London pride was shared tonight as Fulham goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and Chelsea shot-stopper Carlo Cudicini ensured this entertaining derby tussle at Loftus Road ended goalless.
Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed boasted before kick-off that his club are on track to become "the kings of west London". But they were unable to prove that tonight and gain revenge for April's bitter FA Cup semi-final defeat at Villa Park.
In the first half of Claudio Ranieri's 100th game in charge of the Blues, Cudicini made a fantastic save from Junichi Inamoto, clawing the ball away from the bottom right corner.
Barry Hayles actually had Fulham's two best chances of the night - but first fired over and then got the ball stuck under his feet.
Chelsea centre-back Robert Huth, making his first league start, had the Blues' two clearest openings. He made a hash of a header from Gianfranco Zola's free-kick - and forced van der Sar into a brilliant save late on, palming away his 18-yard drive.
Afterwards, Huth reckoned his first Premiership appearance for the club was a success for himself and the Blues.
The former Union Berlin said: "It was a brilliant game for me. They are a good team and we are very happy."
Asked how he relished facing Fulham`s strikers, Huth said: "Of course I was nervous. I was very nervous. It is good experience for me. They are internationals and I can only learn from them."
Chelsea moved up to third place in the Premiership with tonight`s goalless draw and man of the match William Gallas felt that the result represented a point gained from a tricky fixture.
He said: "It was good because we know Fulham are a big team and they play very well. I think everyone is happy."