Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0 to stay unbeaten in the Premier League

Chelsea maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 2-0 win over west London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, coming from a 12:30 BST kickoff to claim three points through a first-half Joao Pedro header and a second-half penalty converted by captain Enzo Fernández. The victory leaves Chelsea on seven points from three matches and ends Fulham's run of early-season resilience.

The breakthrough arrived late in the first half when Fernández delivered a corner that João Pedro nodded in, his first Premier League goal for the club, after a tense opening period in which Chelsea had been momentarily without Cole Palmer because of a pre-match groin problem. The match was shaped decisively by two VAR interventions. Fulham thought they had taken the lead through Josh King only for the goal to be ruled out after a lengthy review found Rodrigo Muniz had fouled Trevoh Chalobah in the buildup. In the second half, VAR official Michael Salisbury referred a handball incident by Ryan Sessegnon to the pitchside monitor and referee Rob Jones awarded a penalty that Fernández calmly slotted away.

The game was notable both for Chelsea's control and for a worrying...