- Chelsea beat Fulham 2-0
- Vinicius not punished for chop on Thiago Silva
- Djalili makes "common assault" claim
WHAT HAPPENED? Chelsea earned a 2-0 victory in their London derby clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage on Monday night, thanks to goals from Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja. The hosts were slightly fortunate to finish the match with 10 men, though, as Vinicius appeared to hit Thiago Silva with a karate chop-type movement when trying to win the ball back from the Chelsea defender late in the second half.
WHAT THEY SAID: VAR did not check the incident, much to the frustration of Chelsea fanatic Djalili, who took to social media to accuse Vinicius of "common assault". The British actor and comedian posted a clip of the clash on X, with the caption: "VAR check for common assault on Thiago Silva you could get arrested for on a Friday night in UK town centres. Check complete. Nothing given. That meme of the VAR team all watching p*rn… seriously."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Controversy over the efficiency of VAR has been raging in the wake of Liverpool's defeat at Tottenham last weekend, which saw officials incorrectly rule out a Luis Diaz goal for offside. The PGMOL admitted to making the wrong decision after the game but Liverpool responded with a strong statement outlining "the clear need for escalation and resolution" with "sporting integrity being undermined".
WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA? Thiago Silva and Co will be back in action when the Blues travel to Burnley for their final Premier League outing before the international break on Saturday.
