Fulham were left to rue a number of costly decisions that were made against them at Stamford Bridge on Saturday when Chelsea took advantage of the VAR controversy to defeat them 2-0.
In the west London derby, Enzo Maresca’s side were fortunate not to be let down by a harsh penalty for a first-half opener.
Rodrigo Muniz’s accidental collision with Trevoh Chalobah was ruled out by VAR, who determined Josh King’s strike to be unfavorable.
At the end of the first half, Joao Pedro extended Chelsea’s lead beyond the eight-minute mark of stoppage-time, as if that weren’t enough enraging for Fulham manager Marco Silva.
Chelsea’s second goal was also VAR-influenced, adding to Silva’s anger as a result of Ryan Sessegnon’s mistake led to Enzo Fernandez scoring from the penalty spot.
Chelsea’s third successive Premier League encounter with a London rival extended their unbeaten start to three games with a draw with Crystal Palace and a 5-1 victory over West Ham.
Alejandro Garnacho watched from the stands as the Argentine international completed his move from Manchester United to Chelsea’s training facility on Friday.
Nicolas Jackson is set to join Chelsea on loan, while Christopher Nkunku signed for AC Milan on Saturday, and Garnacho is set to make his debut.
Before being forced to leave after appearing to pull his hamstring while chasing a long pass, Liam Delap, who was in charge of Chelsea’s overhauled attack, had less than 15 minutes to play.
After Blues forward Cole Palmer was sidelined by a groin injury that will prevent him from participating in England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers, the striker’s exit was yet another blow for Maresca.
King believed that his first professional goal in the 21st minute had broken the deadlock.
Read more about AC Milan signing France forward Nkunku from Chelsea.
Silva seethes, andnbsp
The 18-year-old forward had accelerated and slammed low past Robert Sanchez in a composed manner away from Chelsea’s defense.
However, Muniz made contact with the Chelsea defender’s foot as he spun away from Chalobah’s tackle on the halfway line to start the attack.
King scored as Chalobah scuffed to the ground before play continued.
Referee Rob Jones disallowed the goal for a “careless challenge,” telling the pitchside monitor to review the incident.
Silva blasted the fourth official in a furious rant on the touchline after that explanation.
On the stroke of half-time, Tyrique George, who was substituted for Delap, almost made it with a close-range save from Bernd Leno at his near post.
Chelsea opened the scoring from the corner that should have lasted eight minutes before stoppage-time.
Fernandez curled the set-piece in front of Pedro, who unchallengedly fired home from close range for his second goal of the season.
Silva was enthralled once more by the pricey extra seconds that had been added.
When Fulham’s fans chanted “1-0 to the referee” during the half-time whistle, he made no attempt to confront Jones.
Silva and Fulham both expressed more VAR angst in the 56th minute.
When Sessegnon blocked Chalobah’s cross in the area, his arm was far away from his body.
However, the penalty was only given after VAR determined that Pedro’s challenge on Joachim Anderson and a potential handball by the Brazilian in the build-up were unfees.
Silva was left fuming once more as Fernandez ignored the noise and fired home the spot-kick.
Source: Channels TV
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