LONDON -- As month 13 of their never-ending season approaches, Chelsea are getting all the breaks except the one they most need. For the second home game in a row, pernickety interventions from VAR proved to be decisive for the world champions. Without them, how different this start to the season might be for a side who really look like they need a summer break.

In their 2-0 win over Fulham, Chelsea played just as you would expect a team to when they have barely had time off between the end of 2024-25 and the start of 2025-26. Their high line was punctured with alarming regularity by Josh King and challenges that they might have dominated this time a year ago saw them bounce off white shirts. Too much of their possession play seemed to reflect the worst qualities of Enzo Maresca's syst

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