Chelsea secured a 2-0 win over Fulham in a fiery West London derby at Stamford Bridge, although VAR controversy overshadowed a lot of the competition.
The sport swung halfway by means of the primary half when 18-year-old Josh King appeared to have given Fulham the lead with an excellent end, just for VAR to intervene.
After a prolonged evaluate, referee Robert Jones dominated that Pedro Muniz had fouled Trevoh Chalobah within the build-up, sparking fury from supervisor Marco Silva and the travelling Fulham followers.
Chelsea took full benefit of the reprieve deep into first-half stoppage time, when João Pedro rose highest to move house Enzo Fernández’s nook and provides the hosts the lead.
The guests’ frustration grew early within the second half as one other VAR verify went in opposition to them. João Pedro was cleared of a foul moments earlier than Ryan Sessegnon was judged to have dealt with Chalobah’s cross. From the penalty spot, Fernández calmly transformed to double Chelsea’s benefit.
Fulham had earlier threatened by means of Joachim Andersen, Alex Iwobi, and Muniz, who compelled a pointy save from Robert Sánchez, however their momentum ebbed away after the controversial calls.
Chelsea, in the meantime, pushed for a 3rd with Estêvão Willian and Pedro each denied by Bernd Leno late on.
The victory retains Chelsea’s sturdy begin to the 2025/26 Premier League season on monitor, however Fulham will really feel aggrieved after seeing key moments flip in opposition to them in a derby determined as a lot by know-how as by objectives.
