Chelsea secured a 2-0 victory over local rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge, but the match will be remembered more for highly contentious VAR decisions than the on-field action .
The win extends Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season , while Fulham are still searching for their first league victory.
The game's turning point came in the first half when Fulham's Joshua King had a goal disallowed following a lengthy VAR review. The The decision to rule out the strike for a foul by Rodrigo Muniz on Trevor Chalobah in the build-up was met with widespread frustrations from fulham's players, staff, and fans. The visitors felt they were the better side in the opening 45 mins first half and had been unfairly denied a deserved lead .
To rub salt in Fulham's wounds, Chelsea took the lead deep into first-half stoppage time . A corner from Enzo Fernandez was headed home by Joao Pedro, giving the home side a fortuitous advantage.
The second half brought more VAR drama. After another protracted review, a penalty was awarded to Chelsea for a handball against Ryan Sessegnon. Despite questions over a potential handball in the build-up from Joao Pedro , the decision stood . and Enzo Fernandez calmly converted from the spot to seal the victory.
While Chelsea were pleased with the three points and the clean sheet, the performance was far from convincing , particularly in the first half.
Fulham meanwhile, will feel hard done by the refereeing decisions that ultimately swung the game I Chelsea's favour. The post- match talk has centered on the role of VAR, with many, including Fulham's manager Marco Silva , expressing their frustration with the technology's impact on the game's outcome.
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