Chelsea 2-2 Hull: You couldn’t tell who were the leading Premier League scorers

Chelsea had a nightmare of a game against Hull City. The only people who are surprised are those that weren’t paying attention. After four league games played, the Blues now have two wins out of four. The issue, is that there should have been four draws.

Chelsea came into the game as the best attack in the league, and their opponents were yet to concede a goal. Xabi Alonso’s men proved why they have the best attack, scoring two against the best defensive team. However, no Chelsea fan would be happy about that game, and I think you know why.

Glaring defensive issues

Chelsea allowed three big chances against Fulham on Matchday 1, five big chances against Brighton in Matchday 2, and four big chances against Arsenal in Matchday 3. Of course, you can explain this away. After all, Arsenal won the league last season, and Brighton had also scored eight goals as of Matchday 3. 

The problem, of course, is that it doesn’t seem to matter who Chelsea plays against. They always seem to give up the same number of clear cut chances. In this game against Hull, the Blues were expected to score, but whether they’d be able to shut up shop was the concern. They weren’t. But it was so much worse than that. 

Chelsea allowed more shots and more clear cut chances (4) against newly-relegated Hull City. Alonso’s men scored first, but the away side responded before the 30th minute mark, leveling the game and piling pressure. From that moment, Sergej Jakirovic’s men were on the front foot, and they controlled the game. 

Chelsea, again, made schoolboy errors and conceded needless chances and goals. Emiliano Martinez had to work hard to earn his wages.

Hull City was excellent

As predictably porous as Chelsea was, Hull City was equally as good. Jakirovic’s men took full advantage of the Blues disorganization. They played like the home side on the day. The Tigers had to withstand early pressure, even conceding inside 10 minutes. 

Hull remained calm, working their way back into the game and finding Chelsea’s weak spots quickly. Once they did, they exploited it again and again. This is a team that had only scored three goals in as many games.

It was one thing for Chelsea to be careless out of possession, it’s another thing to make them pay for it. Twice. Jakirovic’s Tigers will leave that game with a chip on their shoulders, and deservedly so.

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Conclusion

Chelsea fans should not be surprised by this result, but they should be worried. Alonso’s men don’t look any closer to being defensively solid than they did in preseason. At some point, Joao Pedro and his supporting cast won’t be able to overcome the eyesore that is the Blues’ defending.