Chelsea defeated Fulham 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with goals from Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez, but the win was overshadowed by controversial refereeing decisions.
Pedro opened the scoring in first-half injury time, heading in a corner from Fernandez. It was his fifth goal in five starts since joining Chelsea. Fernandez later doubled the lead from the penalty spot after Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon was penalised for handball.
Referee Robert Jones came under heavy criticism for two key decisions. In the 21st minute, Fulham thought they had taken the lead through Josh King, but the goal was ruled out by VAR after Rodrigo Muniz was judged to have made slight contact with Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah in the build-up.
Fulham manager Marco Silva was furious on the touchline, especially after the handball call against Sessegnon which gave Chelsea their second goal.
Despite losing striker Liam Delap early on to a hamstring injury, Chelsea held firm to secure the three points.