Chelsea in fresh VAR row as new Pochettino partnership blossoms in Fulham win

In pictures: Fulham v Chelsea

Chelsea ended a barren run of three Premier League games without a goal to leave Craven Cottage with a well-earned victory on Monday night. Goals from Mykhaylo Mudryk and Armando Broja sealed the 2-0 win over Fulham – the Blues’ first league triumph since August – which moves them up to 11th in the table. As Mauricio Pochettino’s side make the brief trip back home, Express Sport takes you through four key talking points from the contest…

Blues in fresh VAR row

Premier League officials will have been desperate for a quiet night after a turbulent weekend of action. By and large, that was what they got, but Chelsea fans couldn’t help being left perplexed by one incident in the second half.

As Thiago Silva dragged the ball back to scurry away from Carlos Vinicius, the Fulham man appeared to ball up his fist and strike his compatriot in the face. Silva immediately went down but those in charge of the contest took no further action, with many viewers convinced that Vinicius should have been given his marching orders.

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Chelsea partnership blossoms

Eyebrows were raised before kick-off when £45million summer signing Cole Palmer was handed his first Premier League start for Chelsea. The 21-year-old has never scored in the English top flight, and despite Pochettino being desperate for goals, he took his spot on the right flank in a 4-2-3-1.

Palmer justified his selection with a fantastic performance, frequently squaring up Fulham’s Antonee Robinson as well as dropping into midfield, where he gelled superbly with Enzo Fernandez.

Along with Palmer, the Argentine was one of Chelsea’s best players on the night, while the link-up between the pair will provide cause for optimism as Pochettino looks to make his side’s goal-shy start to the season a thing of the past.

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Pochettino proven right

It was a big night for Broja at Craven Cottage, with the Chelsea academy graduate getting his first start since before last year’s World Cup. The Blues were reluctant to rush him back from a devastating ACL injury, although Pochettino made a point back in August to bet on him making a significant impact.

“We are keeping one or two eyes on Armando Broja,” he said. “We cannot forget him. We cannot stop him. We really believe in him – we know how important he can be for Chelsea.”

Sure enough, the Albania international revitalised Chelsea’s attack against the Cottagers, showing a willingness to run in behind and a sharpness to bring the best out of those around him – not to mention grabbing his boyhood club’s second goal of the evening with a fortuitous finish.

Pochettino will hope that Broja’s late injury scare is nothing more than that, with the striker not giving much away as he trudged off the pitch.

Mudryk off the mark

It was another up-and-down night for Mudryk, who started poorly with a loose touch on the left-wing and a wayward shot over the crossbar, before being withdrawn at half-time.

But the Ukrainian did at least grab his first Premier League goal, almost 10 months after his £88m arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk. It was a good finish, too, as Mudryk chested down Levi Colwill’s cross and poked past the onrushing Bernd Leno to put the visitors in front.

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