Chelsea 2-0 win over Fulham relied heavily on the officials being able to watch things back a second time. When Enzo Maresca does the same with this performance, he will surely concede VAR masked a number of issues he has to address over the upcoming international break if the Blues are to mount a serious Premier League title challenge this season.
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They were fortunate to beat Fulham here and visiting boss Marco Silva knew it. The Cottagers should have been ahead on 21 minutes when Josh King raced clear on a lightning quick counter-attack, cut inside on his right foot and fired a low shot past Robert Sánchez.
Referee Robert Jones was asked to look again at a challenge by Rodrigo Muniz on Trevoh Chalobah. As Muniz spun, attempting a double drag-back, he completed the first part but missed the ball with his left leg and landed on Chalobah’s foot. The VAR told Jones that it was a “careless challenge,” and the referee agreed.
It was a harsh interpretation of what seemed a natural movement in the midst of good center forward play. To compound Fulham’s frustration, Chelsea took the lead against the run of play from a corner taken in the ninth minute of what was supposed to be eight added on at the end of the first half, João Pedro glancing in Enzo Fernández’s delivery.
By the time Fernandez converted a spot kick, awarded after another VAR review for Ryan Sessegnon’s handball, the rage in Silva had given way to resignation for the second week in a row, after Manchester United’s controversial goal against Fulham last Sunday.
“It’s a special game for everybody in the best league in the world and I saw my team play an outstanding performance in the first half, not trying to park the bus or anything like that,” he told TNT Sports.
“We know from a financial point of view, they are on a different planet but on the pitch we know what we are capable of and the boys were outstanding. After what happened last week with us, all the controversy in the game against Man United, all the decisions from VAR that people cannot understand.
“All the decisions from the VAR and the referee made a massive impact on the game. I told them we cannot control all the decisions against us.
“How do you disallow a goal like that? It’s unbelievable. We have meetings with the referees, the people in charge that we respect. We go there to see a direction, and one of the main things is that VAR is not here to re-referee the game.
“For me it’s unbelievable to disallow that goal. I don’t want to say more, as I will be punished. I want to be on the bench next game. I don’t want to pay fines. I want to help our players. But it’s difficult for us this part of the season with so many decisions that don’t go the way that they should.”
Maresca claimed simply “it was a foul” and “it was a penalty” in response. Regardless, all of this should not mask Chelsea’s deficiencies.
The most obvious starting point is at centre-forward. They spent £90 million to bring in Liam Delap and Pedro to compete with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku yet a curious set of circumstances left them with academy graduate Tyrique George leading the line after just 14 minutes.
Nkunku signed for AC Milan earlier on Saturday, and Jackson was on the verge of joining Bayern Munich on loan but Delap’s injury appears to have caused a rethink.
Delap had looked bright and threatening before his left hamstring gave way when chasing a ball over the top. Maresca opted not to disrupt the shape they had clearly worked on all week — Pedro operating at No. 10 with Pedro Neto on the left and Estêvão on the right — and so opted for George to replace Delap.
George has played through the middle — he scored against Fulham when these teams last met in April — but arguably prefers coming in off the left. In any case, the 19-year-old is more likely than not to leave the club before Monday’s transfer deadline, possibly to AS Roma.
Jamie Gittens, a £50m summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, was left on the bench despite his introduction lending itself to an obvious reshuffle, where Pedro would move up front.
The absence of Cole Palmer, who was missing through a groin injury, created a hole in the team which Maresca struggled to fill as his players failed to replicate the fluidity of last weekend’s 5-1 win at West Ham United.
Fulham are a much more robust proposition, however, and after Delap’s exit, Chelsea seemed to lose their way. Pedro, however, proved the time-honored maxim that good strikers can cover up so many shortcomings.
What followed was a serene final half an hour or so as the fight drained from Fulham and Chelsea relaxed into their two-goal cushion.
In a brief late rally, Pedro proved himself useful at the other end of the pitch, blocking the ball on the goal-line in stoppage time to preserve Chelsea’s clean sheet.
Chelsea’s transfer business suggests there is a recognition Palmer needs more support in carrying this team’s creative burden. A move for Xavi Simons was long discussed before Tottenham Hotspur bypassed Chelsea and made RB Leipzig an offer they found acceptable.
The Blues have instead turned their attentions to Brighton & Hove Albion’s Facundo Buonanotte, although it is unclear at this stage how permanent that solution would be. Sources say Brighton were adamant Friday that they were only open to a loan move to another Premier League club.
Buonanotte, 20, is a promising talent and would presumably act as an understudy to Palmer, perhaps allowing Pedro to operate as a No. 9, especially if Delap is out for the “six-to-eight week” period Maresca feared afterward.
The Chelsea boss has some thinking to do. But at least he can do so under the cloak of everyone else, sadly, spending another afternoon talking about VAR.
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