Jacob Steinberg’s match report
Marco Silva's reaction
As someone who loves football, I feel sad. Just sad.
In the first half I saw my team playing outstanding football. Playing football – not trying to be fake, not parking the bus or something like that. All the decisions from the VAR and the referee made a massive impact on the game. The second half was not at the level I would like to see from our team.
After all the controversy against Man Utd last week, [it was the same today]. Similar incidents for the opposition and for us, they decide in a different way. We are here to learn and to understand things but for me it is almost impossible for me to feel it is going to be balanced in the end.
To disallow a goal like that is unbelievable. Unbelievable. We have all the meetings with the people in charge; we try to see their direction. One of the main things was: ‘VAR is not here to referee the game’.
I would prefer to say nothing more as I will punished. I want to be on the bench for the next game, I don’t want to pay fines. But it has been difficult with so many decisions against us at the start of the season. Let’s move on.
[Is asked again about it] I would love to explain many things. For example, the first goal. There were eight minutes of added time, they score in the ninth. He has to stop the game, it’s the rules. I asked the referee, he told me that we lost time because he was talking to a player. I checked the video – the game didn’t stop one second. What can I say? Chelsea won the game and we move on.
I make mistakes, the referee can make mistakes. The Premier League is so intense, so tough, but when it is black and white you cannot see something that was not there.
I would like to understand the decisions and how they followed the protocols. That’s the main thing for me because to have these decisions in two games in eight days… it’s too much.
[On the transfer window] I’m probably not in the best mood to talk about it. Let’s see what the club is going to do. We need help to perform and keep improving.
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We’ll keep the blog open until Marco Silva’s interview. But if you want to follow some live action, Emillia Hawkins is across the four Premier League 3pm kickoffs and much else besides.
Josh King talks to TNT Sports
[On his disallowed goal] It’s a hard feeling to describe. I think it was a perfectly good goal but there’s not much you can do. It’s part of being a professional and we have to bounce back. We can only control the controllables.
[On Marco Silva] He’s a really passionate person and that fires us up as well. It’s a difficult one to take because I think maybe we deserved more from the game. It is what it is.
[On the moment his shot beat Robert Sanchez] It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had: the elation, having the team around you and stuff. Hopefully I can replicate it and it’ll count next time.
Joao Pedro’s reaction
We didn’t start very well but we scored and had time to organise things at half-time. I thought we did well in the second half.
[On VAR] The ref made his decisions – I don’t have enough to say about that. It was good for us!
[On the ball hitting his hand before the second goal] I knew my hand was close to my body so I just waited for the referee to give his decision.
Still want more?
Full time: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham
To Chelsea the spoils, to VAR the headlines. Fulham manager Marco Silva is still fuming about two decisive interventions: Josh King’s excellent first-half goal was ruled out for a perceived foul by Rodrigo Muniz on Trevoh Chalobah, then Chelsea were awarded a penalty for handball against Ryan Sessegnon despite a potential foul by Moises Caicedo in the build-up.
The impressive Joao Pedro headed Chelsea ahead in the ninth of eight added minutes at the end of the first half – Fulham didn’t love that either – and Enzo Fernandez converted the penalty to make it 2-0. Here’s what the result does to the fledgling Premier League table.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 3 | 6 | 7 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Nottm Forest | 2 | 2 | 4 |
90+6 min Lukic is penalised for a challenge on Enzo, hoofs the ball away in disgust and is booked.
90+5 min Raul Jimenez curls a lamentable free-kick higher over the bar.
90+3 min Andrey Santos wipes out Wilson and is booked.
Joao Pedro clears off the line
90+2 min Joao Pedro is limping slightly, though he doesn’t seem unduly concerned. He jogs back for a Fulham corner – and smuggles Andersen’s header off the line at the far post!
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90 min The Chelsea fans encourage Reece James to shoot from distance, so he does. Leno makes a comfortable save.
There will be eight minutes of added time.
87 min At the other end, Traore’s cross is headed over by the leaping Jimenez. Tough chance.
86 min Joao Pedro runs onto a bouncing ball and smashes a shot that is beaten away by Leno. The flag went up for offside after the event but it was a good save from Leno.
84 min Another Fulham substitution: Adama Traore on, Alex Iwobi off. Feels like the game is petering out.
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81 min: Double substitution for Chelsea Andrey Santos and Reece James replace Pedro Neto and the early substitute Tyrique George.
80 min Fulham have stirred in the last few minutes and a goal would enliven matters.
77 min Fulham appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty when a long cross hits the arm of Gusto. It was tight to his body so there’s no chance of a VAR intervention.
75 min The timing and manner of the second goal flattened Fulham, who have looked a beaten team since.
73 min Iwobi is booked for pulling back Chalobah.
71 min The corner is headed on by Chalobah and kicked away by the defender on the far post.
71 min Neto runs Bassey and sweeps a cross that is kicked behind by Andersen. Chelsea are well on top now.
70 min Gittens has gone out to the left with Pedro Neto switching wings.
68 min: Chelsea substitution Estevao, who showed flashes of his coruscating talent, is replaced by Jamie Gittens.
67 min: Double substitution for Fulham Antonee Robinson and Emile Smith Rowe replace Ryan Sessegnon and the very impressive teenager Josh King.
66 min Pedro Neto’s right-foot cross just evades the stretching Joao Pedro at the far post. Joao Pedro’s movement has been really good.
66 min On TNT Sports, Joe Cole says this game has been a “bad advert for VAR and modern football in general”.
65 min A snappy move from Chelsea ends with Joao Pedro’s deflected shot bouncing through to the keeper Leno.
64 min Chelsea are having their best spell of the match, passing the ball around with a soupcon of swagger.
Chance for Joao Pedro
62 min Fulham’s heads are starting to go. Joao Pedro runs onto Chalobah’s long pass and tries to go round Bernd Leno, who dives at his feet to push the ball away. Good save.
60 min: Double substitution for Fulham Raul Jimenez and Harry Wilson replace Rodrigo Muniz and Timothy Castagne.
Good save by Leno
58 min Chelsea lead 2-0 almost by accident. Estevao also makes it three, zipping across Bassey before reversing a low shot that is well saved to his left by Leno.
GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Fulham (Enzo 56 pen)
Enzo Fernandez pings it straight down the middle. Leno got a touch with a trailing leg but couldn’t keep it out.
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55 min The Joao Pedro handball is deemed irrelevant because Tete kicked the ball against him. I’d like to see the challenge by Caicedo on Iwobi because he seemed to follow through onto Iwobi’s foot. The actual handball decision against Sessegnon, under the current interpretation of the law, was fair enough.
Updated
Penalty to Chelsea
54 min This is fun, isn’t it.
53 min The referee is still looking at the monitor.
VAR check (2) The ball also hit the outstretched hand of Joao Pedro earlier in the move, but that’s deemed irrelevant. Caicedo won the ball off Iwobi and followed through onto his foot, albeit not with the same force as Muniz on Chalobah in the first half. I have no idea any more.
VAR check Sessegnon turned his back on Chalobah’s cross, with his arm stretching out in the process. The referee is going to the monitor. Good lord. The other issue is whether Caicedo fouled Iwobi by standing on his foot a moment before Chalobah’s cross.
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50 min Chelsea appeal for handball, and a penalty, when Chalobah’s cross hits the outstretched arm of Sessegnon. This might be given, and if it is Marco Silva could explode.
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48 min Castagne’s shot is blocked by Cucurella, then Muniz heads wide from about 15 yards. A very difficult chance.
46 min Peep peep! Fulham begin the second half.
Half time: Chelsea 1-0 Fulham
As the players all walk down the tunnel, Marco Silva waits for the referee Rob Jones. He tells Silva to bugger off in the same direction, an instruction that is reluctantly followed.
Updated
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Fulham (Joao Pedro 45+9)
Chelsea have scored in the ninth of eight added minutes and Marco Silva is raging. It was another superb corner from Enzo, flipped into the six-yard box from the left. Joao Pedro pulled away from the keeper Leno, got in front of Bassey and steered a good header into the corner.
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45+9 min Chalobah’s long-range shot deflects behind. The resulting corner leads to a scramble and eventually a chance for George, whose close-range shot is well blocked by Leno.
Great defending by Caicedo
45+5 min King, who has been the best attacker on the pitch, makes a good run into the area and screws the ball back towards the onrushing Castagne. His shot on the run is deflected wide by Caicedo, who is embraced by the keeper Sanchez.
45+2 min Gusto, facing his own goal, makes a vital challenge to stop King having a clear shot. King was waiting for the ball to drop and that allowed Gusto to stretch and poke it away.
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45 min Estevao rolls Sessegnon, who thought he was fouled, then scoots past Bassey and drives a low cross that is cleared.
There will be eight minutes of added time. Chelsea are starting to apply a bit of pressure.
43 min Enzo Fernandez, on the left, clips a beautiful, Dennis Wise-style corner into the six-yard box. The ball hits the back of Andersen, ricochets against Tosin (I think) and loops onto the roof of the net.
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42 min Fulham continue to frustrate Chelsea with their defensive excellence. Aside from one particular incident, Marco Silva will be thrilled with how the first half has gone.
38 min Caicedo is booked for tripping the impressive King. The last few minutes have been very stop-start.
36 min Sarcastic cheers from the away fans when the referee gives a foul to Fulham for a challenge on Muniz.
35 min Enzo Fernandez sprays a crossfield pass straight out of play. Chelsea haven’t been great so far.
30 min Sanchez makes a smart point-blank save from Muniz. It wouldn’t have counted as Muniz was offside from Sessegnon’s cross, but it’s another demonstration of Fulham’s threat. So far they’ve been the better team.
26 min King, who has had the happiest moment of his young life erased, has a shot from 20 yards saved by Sanchez.
The consensus from the TNT Sports commentary team is that it wasn’t a foul by Muniz, never mind a clear and obvious error.
NO GOAL! Chelsea 0-0 Fulham
Yep, Muniz has been penalised for a “careless” challenge on Chalobah. Poor old Marco Silva is waving his hands in disgust.
Updated
24 min: The referee is going to the monitor. Muniz turned Chalobah with a roulette, then accidentally stood on Chalobah’s foot in his follow through. Muniz was challenged by Cucurella, with the ball breaking for Berge, who then put King through on goal. Fulham aren’t having much luck with VAR right now.
Updated
It’s his first goal for Fulham, not that you’d know it from such a calm finish. It came on the break, with Berge slipping an early ball through to King. He ran from the halfway line into the Chelsea area, turned back inside Tosin and drove the ball past Sanchez.
Hang on, there’s a VAR check.
Updated
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Fulham (King 21)
A beautifully taken goal from the teenager Josh King gives Fulham the lead!
19 min A good spell of Fulham attacking ends with Iwobi shooting wide from distance. They’re causing Chelsea problems with what is effectively a diamond midfield: Berge, then Lukic and Iwobi, then King behind Muniz.
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15 min George has gone straight up front to replace Delap.
14 min: Chelsea substitution Tyrique George replaces Liam Delap, who walks straight down the tunnel. The fact he can walk freely hopefully means it’s a strain rather than a tear.
13 min More injury problems for Chelsea. Liam Delap is down with a hamstring strain; he chased a ball forward and then pulled up suddenly.
Updated
10 min Both teams have started brightly. Fulham may be playing a back five but that shouldn’t be mistaken for a parking of the bus.
8 min The camera cuts to Chelsea’s new signing Alejandro Garnacho, who is farting around on his phone. Watch the game man!
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7 min: Chance for Fulham Andersen rumbles forward to the edge of the area, plays a one-two with Castagne and flashes a shot well wide with his left foot. Nice attack, not a great finish.
6 min Cucurella’s cutback from the byline finds Delap, who smashes a shot that is well blocked by Berge on the six-yard line.
5 min Fulham try to play out from the back and lose the ball. Joao Pedro rakes a left-foot drive from 25 yards that is held to his left by Leno.
2 min Fulham have started with a back three/five, so this is their revised line-up.
Fulham (5-3-1-1) Leno; Castagne, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon; Lukic, Berge, Iwobi; King; Muniz.
1 min Peep peep! Chelsea kick off from right to left as we watch.
A reminder of the teams
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Joao Pedro, Neto; Delap.
Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Fofana, James, Hato, Essugo, Andrey Santos, George, Gittens.
Fulham (possible 4-2-3-1) Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon; Lukic, Berge; Castagne, King, Iwobi; Muniz.
Subs: Lecomte, Cuenca, Robinson, Reed, Cairney, Wilson, Adama, Smith Rowe, Raul.
Referee Rob Jones.
Marco Silva’s pre-match thoughts
We are ready for a very, very tough game. We had a good performance last Sunday and we did the job with eight changes in midweek.
We have our plan – it’s not for us to talk about that now, I’d prefer for us to express that on the field. We know what we want from the game.
Alejandro Garnacho, who is in the process of moving from Manchester United to Chelsea, is also at Stamford Bridge today.
Updated
Enzo Maresca’s pre-match thoughts
It’s a big game, a derby. We know how difficult a game it is from last season [when Fulham won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge] so hopefully we will be ready. We want to finish with a good feeling before the international break.
Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku have left Chelsea for Munich and Milan respectively. Jacob Steinberg has more.
Team news
Both teams are unchanged from last weekend’s Premier League games. How convenient.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo; Estevao, Joao Pedro, Neto; Delap.
Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Fofana, James, Hato, Essugo, Andrey Santos, George, Gittens.
Fulham (possible 4-2-3-1) Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon; Lukic, Berge; Castagne, King, Iwobi; Muniz.
Subs: Lecomte, Cuenca, Robinson, Reed, Cairney, Wilson, Adama, Smith Rowe, Raul.
Referee Rob Jones
Updated
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the west London derby at Stamford Bridge. Both teams have had decent starts to the season. Chelsea were held by Crystal Palace and thrashed West Ham; Fulham came from behind to draw with Brighton and Manchester United.
It’s already been a busy day for Chelsea, who have loaned/sold Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich. You can read about that on our matchday live blog. This blog, this thing here, is all about the on-field action.
Kick off is at 12.30pm and we’ll have all the team news shortly.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Nottm Forest | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Man City | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Everton | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | AFC Bournemouth | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 10 | Brentford | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 11 | Burnley | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 12 | Leeds | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| 13 | Fulham | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 16 | Man Utd | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 18 | Brighton | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton | 2 | -5 | 0 |
| 20 | West Ham | 2 | -7 | 0 |
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