Chelsea vs Hull City: Best attack vs best defense, who wins?
Chelsea has started well under Xabi Alonso, though that depends on who you ask. The Blues have won four out of five games so far, with two of them being cup games. In all games, goals have flooded the pitch.
Alonso is still trying to work out the kinks, acknowledging that the team is not yet where it should be, and reassuring fans that the things will come together soon. For now, fans can be excited about the attacking, as that is usually the more important aspect of coaching a team: goals. Real Madrid has shown that scoring is not as easy as creating many chances, after creating nine big chances against Inter, and scoring just 2.
Chelsea’s attack: Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer
Chelsea’s attack has been so good that no team has scored more goals so far (8) in the Premier League. Brighton has also netted eight goals. Of these eight, all three forwards have contributed two goals each and have also provided assists. Joao Pedro leads all three forwards in goal involvements (4) with Morgan Rogers (3) and Cole Palmer (3) following.
Yes, Chelsea spent 117 million on Rogers, but we have lost count of how many players moved for big money and didn’t live up to the billing. The 24-year-old looks like he won’t be that player, thankfully. In all competitions, he leads the Blues in assists (4). It’s always difficult for players to settle at new clubs, but Rogers seems to have settled fine.
Hull City’s defense: A team designed to withstand attacks
It actually is. Sergej Jakirovic is not pretending to be what he’s not, and he’s certainly not coaching the team to be what they’re not. The Serbian manager has his team playing with a classic five-man defense. Three central defenders and two fullbacks. No nonsense.
There’s a reason Hull City is still the only team yet to concede a goal, and they have faced Manchester United, Coventry City and Aston Villa. Chelsea would do well to respect this team.
It’s important to note, however, that Hull has not scored much, only scoring three so far, but as a newly promoted side, holding your own against the big teams is crucial if you’re going to stay up.
Centerbacks John Egan and Semi Ajayi have been outstanding, but as impressive as they have been, the goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis has been even more dazzling.
Can’t hide from Chelsea’s defensive issues
Chelsea’s defending is not the main focus of this piece, and the fans will hope that it’s not the talking point come the final whistle, but it’s difficult to avoid this issue. To put in context how bad this defending has been, the Blues are worse than the bottom five of the bottom six teams in the league.
AFC Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and Coventry City have all conceded fewer goals than the Blues. Coventry in 20th place has conceded two goals fewer than Alonso’s men.
Chelsea is coming up against a team that has averaged one goal per game, and should be able to avoid conceding. The goals scored by the red-hot attack will be wasted if they’re all canceled out by rubbish defending.
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Conclusion
Hull City and Chelsea occupy 3rd and 4th place respectively, so this is very much a six-pointer. Chelsea needs to win to climb over Jakirovic’s men. The two-time Champions League winners also need to win by more than two goals to climb their opponents, due to the horrendous goal difference.
Alonso knows what he needs to do. Winning games is the whole point, but he cannot afford to have his team hanging by a thread in every game. Trophies are won when a team can win most games comfortably, and Chelsea has not won any game comfortably so far.