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.