VAR decisions help Chelsea overcome Fulham in Premier League

Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0 in the Premier League, helped by contentious VAR decisions. Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez scored, while Fulham boss Marco Silva criticised refereeing after his side’s disallowed goal

London: Chelsea benefited from some contentious refereeing calls in a 2-0 win over West London neighbour Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.

Joao Pedro gave Chelsea the lead with a header from a corner in the ninth minute of first-half stoppage time, after a minimum of eight added-on minutes had been called.

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That further angered Fulham manager Marco Silva, who was already furious that his team’s 21st-minute goal by Josh King was ruled out after a VAR review deemed Rodrigo Muniz to have stamped on the foot of Trevoh Chalobah as he shielded the ball in the build-up.

Silva resorted to laughing sarcastically early in the second half when Chelsea was awarded a penalty for handball against Ryan Sessegnon following another video review, which highlighted two potential infringements — a push and a handball — by Joao Pedro in the build-up.

After a long delay, Enzo Fernandez — who had sent in the corner for Joao Pedro’s goal — converted the spot kick down the middle in the 56th at Stamford Bridge.

“For someone who loves football as a manager, a former football player, as a fan, sometimes when I just watch a game, I feel sad, really,” Silva said when asked for his views on the refereeing decisions. “Just that.” Chelsea has picked up seven points from a possible nine in its first three games of the campaign, while Fulham has yet to win.

In later Premier League games on Saturday, Manchester United was hosting promoted Burnley and looking to bounce back from an embarrassing loss in the English League Cup, while Tottenham was seeking for a third straight win to open the campaign in a home match against Bournemouth.