Refereeing controversy takes centre stage as Chelsea beat west London rivals Fulham | OneFootball

Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to make it seven points from nine, but it was referee Rob Jones and VAR which will attract most of the attention.

Chelsea could have done with a good start after their drab 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace in their first home game; but it was Fulham who scored first, or at least thought they had.

Josh King had the ball in the back of the net in the 21st minute, following a lovely run from the halfway line that culminated in him cutting inside Tosin Adarabioyo and slotting past Robert Sanchez.

All seemed in order, until VAR asked Jones to go to the monitor. Rodrigo Muniz had inadvertently trod on Trevoh Chalobah’s foot during the build up to the goal and while it seemed fairly innocuous and accidental, the goal was ruled out. Marco Silva was irate on the touchline, shaking his head and shouting at the fourth official, the Fulham fans chanted “you don’t know what you’re doing” at Jones, and every foul from then on elicited huge noise from the away end.

The needle in the game had been taken to a different level. And when Joao Pedro headed in just before half-time to put the Blues ahead – an undeserved lead – the Fulham fans sang “one nil to the referee”.

There would be more controversy when Chalobah put a ball into the box that hit Ryan Sessegnon’s outstretched hand, and Jones – who was no more than ten yards away – didn’t give the penalty.

VAR again intervened, however, and sent him to the pitchside monitor. Finally, after what was somehow a four-minute review, it was given. Enzo Fernandez duly dispatched and Chelsea were 2-0 up, but Fulham felt further aggrieved given the ball appeared to strike Joao Pedro’s hand prior Sessegnon’s.

Chelsea certainly had the rub of the green when it came to refereeing decisions, but endured some back luck early on in the first half when Liam Delap was forced off with what looked to be a hamstring issue.

The timing of Delap’s injury is terrible for Chelsea given recent events in the transfer window. Nicolas Jackson is seemingly set to join Bayern Munich.

What seemed an abundance of striking options at the start of the campaign with three, now looks laid bare with only Joao Pedro fit and remaining.

It’s a good thing then, that the Brazilian is in exceptional form. He now has five goals and two assists in six competitive appearances for Chelsea, helping the Blues to a strong start to the new campaign.