There were three second-half penalties between <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/fulham-tv-schedule/">Fulham</a> and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/wolves-tv-schedule-for-us-viewers/">Wolves</a>, but the Cottagers used Willian’s second goal to narrowly edge Gary O’Neil’s side. The win shakes off a poor run of form from Fulham, which picked up its first win in its last five contests. Wolves lost its sixth game of the season, but it does not shift in the table. Both sides are on 15 points. However, a better goal differential has Wolves on 12th in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> table and Fulham on 14th.



The hosts started the game well, and they found the back of the net inside seven minutes. Interplay between Willian and Antonee Robinson allowed the American to swing in a square ball to the edge of the six-yard box. Alex Iwobi tucked the ball away to provide Fulham the edge early on. Yet, the game went into the halftime break level after Wolves found its footing. 



Hwang Hee-chan rattled the crossbar while Wolves were temporarily playing with 10 men with an injury at the 15-minute mark. Matheus Cunha did bring Wolves level after an equally brilliant bit of play. Impressive footwork from Wolves’ Jean-Ricner Bellegarde spun Robinson, who was the provider of Fulham’s opener. Bellegarde then lobbed a cross into the box, where Cunha headed the ball low and into the net.



Wolves had a pair of great chances in the latter stages of the first half. On one occasion, Robinson carelessly passed the ball back to Bernd Leno, but Wolves intercepted it. However, Mario Lemina could not get a shot on target.



<h2>Penalties decide game between Fulham and Wolves</h2>



The theme of the second 45 minutes was the referee. That started after a quarter of an hour in the second frame. Nelson Semedo stopped a Fulham attack with a tackle on Andreas Pereira. However, Tom Cairney wisely stepped in front of Semedo to touch the ball away. Semedo then stepped on Cairney who drew the penalty. Willian stepped up to take the penalty, and he passed it into Jose Sa’s lower left-hand side. The Portuguese dove the wrong way, and Fulham restored its lead. 



Fifteen minutes later, it was Wolves to score a penalty. A long ball over the top from Sa toward Hwang put center-back Tim Ream in an awkward position. The American bundled over the Korean, and the referee correctly gave a penalty. Hwang, who drew the penalty, converted the spot kick with a powerful strike down the middle.



The last two major incidents of the game were not so straightforward. In the 87th minute, Carlos Vinicius made head-to-head contact with Max Kilman after a soft tackle from Kilman. The referee deemed contact was not worthy of a red card. Still, reviews demonstrated clear contact initiated by Vinicius that could have warranted a red card.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231127_WST_473129_Harry-Wilson-1200x675.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-473216" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Harry-Wilson-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Harry-Wilson-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Harry-Wilson-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/Harry-Wilson.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure><figcaption>Harry Wilson drew a penalty in the 90th minute that Willian converted in stoppage time.</figcaption></figure>



Fulham took advantage of retaining 11 players by drawing another penalty in the 90th minute. Antonee Robinson squared the ball back into the box in a similar fashion to Fulham’s first goal. Wolves’ Joao Gomes intercepted the ball. Yet, before he could kick it away, Harry Wilson sprinted across. Gomes had an extended leg that tripped Wilson. Originally, referees did not flag the play for a foul. VAR deemed there was enough contact to bring Wilson down.



Once again, Willian stepped up to convert the spot kick. This time, he went hard and low to Sa’s right side. Despite the goalkeeper guessing correctly, Willian struck the ball too well.



<h2>A much-needed win for Fulham</h2>



An inspired Fulham picked up a crucial three points to escape a skid in form. Moreover, Fulham has games coming up against Liverpool and Newcastle. Even though the season is just over one-third of the way done, points are already at a premium.



Gary O’Neil’s Wolves side played well. At times, Wolves looked ripe to take the lead in both the first and second halves. Additionally, O’Neil and Wolves may feel hard done by the decision to keep Vinicius on the field and the 90th-minute penalty. However, the loss keeps Wolves in the bottom half of the table. The side will stay on the road with a trip to Arsenal before home games against Burnley and Nottingham Forest.



PHOTOS: IMAGO

Fulham wins penalty-laden affair over Wolves in stoppage time

There were three second-half penalties between Fulham and Wolves, but the Cottagers use Willian's second to narrowly edge Gary O'Neil's side.

Chelsea has made headlines in the Premier League over the last two years for its <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/latest-chelsea-transfers-not-at-fault-for-aimless-spending-20230114-WST-415145.html">lavish spending on transfers</a>. However, the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> opened up an investigation into two transfers from well before current owner Todd Boehly took over. These transfers occurred in 2013, and the Premier League and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/chelsea-tv-schedule/">Chelsea</a> identified payments went from the club to ‘Russian entities’ rather than a club.



The two transfers in question are for Chelsea’s acquisition of Willian and Samuel Eto’o. The club acquired the duo from Anzhi Makhachkala&nbsp;within two days of one another. Chelsea paid over $30 million for Willian while it received Eto’o on a free move. The investigation is part of Boehly and the current Chelsea ownership group’s due diligence process. <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/323a44ca-ee5a-43fb-b2fb-1f5637013e2f?shareToken=1957aeec8fecf47db80ed9653c60ae32" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Times</a> reported that Chelsea paid millions to secretive offshore accounts from 2012 to 2019. Also, there is a report that one player’s family received direct payments from Chelsea.



The investigation centers around the fact that the $30 million was not Chelsea’s only expense in the transfer. According to reports, Anzhi Makhachkala received the $30 million. Yet, there were separate payments to offshore Russian accounts. That would raise flags that go against the Premier League’s and UEFA’s transfer policy. UEFA has a five-year time bar on investigating transfers, which means it cannot investigate the payments Chelsea made. However, the Premier League can look as far back as needed to deal out any punishments. 



The current Chelsea ownership group already agreed to a settlement with UEFA worth over $10 million to answer for Financial Fair Play breaches. Those breaches came from incomplete financial information from 2012 to 2019. Even though it happened in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/roman-abramovich-the-russian-tycoon-who-transformed-chelsea-20220302-CMS-373921.html">Roman Abramovich era</a>, Todd Boehly and company still had to pay.



<h2>Chelsea could still face sanctions from Premier League for faulty transfers</h2>



That could be the case again should the Premier League find more breaches regarding the transfers of Willian and Eto’o. The Abramovich regime was responsible for the transfers of the two. Still, Chelsea would have to answer for any breaches. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="675" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20231030_WST_465910_Abramovich-1200x675.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="" class="wp-image-465925" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Abramovich-1200x675.jpg 1200w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Abramovich-300x169.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Abramovich-768x432.jpg 768w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/Abramovich.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure><figcaption>Roman Abramovich elevated Chelsea to new heights, but some of his moves behind the scenes are raising questions.</figcaption></figure>



“These allegations pre-date the club’s current ownership,” Chelsea released in a statement. “They concern entities that were allegedly controlled by the club’s former owner and do not relate to any individual who is presently at the club.”



The club added that it is fully assisting the authorities. That way, it can ensure the club is clear of any financial fair play breaches. 



“In accordance with the club’s ownership group’s core principles of full compliance and transparency the club has proactively assisted the applicable regulators with their investigations and will continue to do so.”



Chelsea accepted the settlement with UEFA over breaches of financial fair play to pay over $10 million. The club could face a similar fee because of this transfer with payments to Russian entities. 



<h2>Issues still rising for Chelsea</h2>



The concern over the moves for Willian and Eto’o, both of whom are not on Chelsea’s books anymore, only adds to the issues at Chelsea. With the club still floundering in the bottom half of the table, Chelsea lost at home again this weekend. The Blues are not adding any revenue from European competition following their dismal campaign last season to help with these fines and lofted transfer fees.



PHOTOS: IMAGO

Premier League investigating two Chelsea transfers from 2013

Chelsea has made headlines in the Premier League over the last two years for its lavish spending on transfers.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Willian"

Fulham

Fulham wins penalty-laden affair over Wolves in stoppage time

Chelsea

Premier League investigating two Chelsea transfers from 2013