VAR controversy reared its ugly head twice as Chelsea maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 win over West London derby rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
In many ways, the first 45 minutes of the lunchtime capital clash followed the script for the season; a hamstring injury, Chelsea scoring from a corner and the obligatory dose of VAR drama.
The hosts lost Liam Delap to an early muscle issue shortly before Joshua King had the ball in the back of the net for the Cottagers, but the youngster's strike was disallowed, as Rodrigo Muniz was deemed to have fouled Trevoh Chalobah when accidentally standing on the centre-back's foot in the build-up.
If Fulham boss Marco Silva was not already furious enough, the Portuguese nearly hit tipping point when Joao Pedro headed the Blues in front in the ninth minute of first-half injury time; the Cottagers head coach waited for referee Rob Jones on the pitch before being ordered into the tunnel.
The on-field official was at the centre of controversy yet again in the second 45, as Ryan Sessegnon was penalised for a handball inside the penalty area, allowing Enzo Fernandez to double the Club World Cup winners' lead.
The contentious incidents stopped there as Chelsea comfortably saw out the triumph, thus rising to the top of the Premier League table for at least a couple of hours.
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT
Confirmation of Josh King's disallowed goal for Fulham against Chelsea on August 30, 2025
Dissection time.
There is nothing that can unite fans of rival teams more than a controversial refereeing decision, and from a quick glance at social media, almost all were in agreement that King's disallowed goal will go down as one of the biggest VAR miscarriages of justice.
Trying to give the officials some benefit of the doubt, it can be argued that supporters of any team will always ask for a foul if one of their players is stamped on, accidental or not.
But on the flip side, Muniz may have had nowhere else to put his foot than on Chalobah's own, and the consensus among the masses is that the VAR room are going too far when it comes to finding reasons to disallow goals - which, at the end of the day, is what football is all about.
Breaking down the penalty incident, the IFAB changed the handball rule in 2021 so that accidental handballs leading to a teammate scoring or having a scoring opportunity would not be penalised, so long as the scorer/player involved in the opportunity themselves did not commit the handball.
The Pedro handball argument therefore stops there, but the point will no doubt be raised that Sessegnon's arm was in a natural position for a player off the ground - cue the 'how else is he supposed to jump?' questions.
Focusing on the football momentarily, Chelsea did emerge deserve winners based on their much-improved second-half performance, but this is another Premier League game that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
CHELSEA VS. FULHAM HIGHLIGHTS
Josh King disallowed goal vs. Chelsea (24th min, Chelsea 0-0 Fulham)
Josh King's opening goal is disallowed for a 'careless challenge' after VAR review ❌
? @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/5pLOwOcPc2
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 30, 2025
One weekend of Premier League football without some form of officiating controversy. That is all we ask.
Fulham protege King had seemingly put the visitors ahead with a smart finish on the breakaway, but play is pulled back for a perceived foul on Trevoh Chalobah by Rodrigo Muniz.
The Brazilian accidentally trod on the centre-back's foot while performing a slick piece of skill - the 'Maradona' I believe - and that is enough to disallow the goal on account of a 'careless challenge', referee Rob Jones tells the crowd.
Joao Pedro goal vs. Fulham (45+9 min, Chelsea 1-0 Fulham)
JOAO PEDRO SCORES AGAIN! ?
The Brazilian’s header puts Chelsea in front ⚽
? @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/B8Cee4ZHxi
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 30, 2025
Copy and paste from gameweek three; Fulham concede from a corner as Chelsea score from one!
Enzo Fernandez's glorious delivery is on the money for Pedro, who rises for a header unchallenged in the six-yard box and calmly nods home into the bottom corner, leaving Silva seething.
Enzo Fernandez goal vs. Fulham (56th min, Chelsea 2-0 Fulham)
Enzo makes no mistake from the spot and doubles Chelsea's lead ?
? @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/olr4Tmey2V
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 30, 2025
A penny for Silva's thoughts.
Chelsea fans and players are up in arms screaming for a penalty after Sessegnon's arm was up - blocking a cross from Trevoh Chalobah - and Jones awards a spot kick after checking the monitor.
The replays also show the ball striking Pedro's hand, but Kenny Tete evidently kicked the ball onto his hand, and accidental handballs from a teammate before a goal or goalscoring opportunity are no longer penalised as per an IFAB rule change from 2021.
Fernandez steps up to the 12-yard mark, and while Bernd Leno gets something on the Argentinian's effort, the ball flies into the back of the net nonetheless.
MAN OF THE MATCH - JOAO PEDRO
Chelsea's Joao Pedro celebrates scoring on August 30, 2025
As I was just about to do my justification for Enzo Fernandez being the player of the match, Pedro made a crucial clearance off the line to prevent Fulham from netting a consolation in added time - his second game-defining contribution of the afternoon.
Before that instinctive block in his own box, Pedro continued his scintillating start to life in Chelsea blue with a strong leap and simple header to break the deadlock, while he also drew four fouls and completed 88% of his passes - Maresca can breathe slightly easier in Delap's likely absence thanks to the form of his new number 20.
CHELSEA VS. FULHAM MATCH STATS
Possession: Chelsea 55%-45% Fulham
Shots: Chelsea 13-11 Fulham
Shots on target: Chelsea 6-3 Fulham
Corners: Chelsea 6-4 Fulham
Fouls: Chelsea 11-17 Fulham
BEST STATS
Joao Pedro's 5️⃣ competitive starts for Chelsea so far:
⚽️⚽️ vs Fluminesense
⚽️ vs PSG
❌ vs Crystal Palace
⚽️?️?️ vs West Ham
⚽️ vs Fulham
Four goals and two assists in just five matches ? pic.twitter.com/Sk604LjzCe
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 30, 2025
Enzo Fernandez has scored and assisted in a Premier League game for the second time in a Chelsea shirt:
⚽️?️ vs. Leicester (2024)
⚽️?️ vs. Fulham (2025)
He now has 18 goal contributions across all competitions in 2025. ? pic.twitter.com/nBxIxhPpYI
— Squawka Live (@Squawka_Live) August 30, 2025
WHAT NEXT?
Once the international break concludes, Chelsea continue their remarkable streak of London derbies with a fourth consecutive all-capital clash, travelling to Brentford in another local derby on September 13.
That tie comes four days before the Blues open their Champions League campaign away to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, while Fulham's first game back comes at home to Leeds United in a fortnight's time.
ID:580427:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11697:
No Data Analysis info