Chelsea FC Defeat Hull City 3-2
Credit: CFC Unofficial https://www.flickr.com/photos/cfcunofficial/16325051627/
Chelsea FC would return to league action on Sunday looking to pick up a win over Hull City. A win would keep the Blues’ comfortable six point lead over Manchester City in the Barclay’s Premier League table. Hull would have to get on without their main target man Nikica Jelavic. Filipe Luis would start at left back, and Ramires would return in defensive midfield for Chelsea.
Chelsea wouldn’t take long to open the scoring, with Eden Hazard banging one in with less than two minutes gone. Diego Costa held the ball up, then found Hazard cutting inside from his wide position. Hazard then ran at the retreating defense, and beat keeper Allan McGregor far post.
Chelsea would double their lead through Costa in the 10th minute. Costa received the ball in space on the left flank. The forward took a couple of dribbles to create a better angle, then [put in a floated effort again to McGregor’s far post.
A dream start for Chelsea, and a nightmarish one for Hull. The relegation candidates had a mountain to climb to get back into the game, and not even 15 minutes had passed.
The Tigers were able to give their home fans hope in the 26th minute. Andrew Robertson pushed forward from his fullback position, and played in a beautiful ball for Ahmed Elmohamady. The Egyptian hit the ball first time, and was able to lift the crowd with a goal.
Hull equalized just a minute later. A poor back pass from Branislav Ivanovic put Thibaut Courtois in an awkward position. The keeper couldn’t get enough on his clearance, and the ball fell to Abel Hernandez. With the goal gaping, Hernandez was able to tap the ball in.
The first half had a little bit of everything if you were a neutral. Chelsea had gone up 2-0 early, and it seemed as if this just wasn’t going to be Hull’s day tp pull of a shocker. Then the Tigers went on to score two goals in succession, and bring it back at two all. And as the second half progressed, it was Hull who were creating more chances. Jose Mourinho would surely be giving his men a stern talking to in attempts to turn the game back in their favor.
The second half almost began like the first, with Chelsea barely missing a chance to reclaim the lead. Hazard once again was making it happen for the Blues, and he found Cesc Fabregas free at the top of the box. Fabregas teed up the shot, but dragged just wide.
More from The Pride of London
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea player ratings: Abysmal, reckless, wasteful
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea: 3 Blues talking points
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
Courtois was tested in a spectacular sequence in the 64th minute, and again proved his billing as a top class keeper. The Belgian made three saves in a row, one from point blank range from Elmohamady to keep the game tied at two.
By then the game had turned into a back and forth affair. Both teams pushing for the winner, and both creating chances.
In the 75th minute, Chelsea would take the lead through substitute Loic Remy. Willian crossed a ball across the face of goal for Remy, who was able to finish, albeit a bit lucky, on his first touch of the game. McGregor was able to get a touch to the ball, but fortunately for Chelsea fans, couldn’t keep it out completely.
Chelsea were able to withstand a late Hull flurry in the final minutes, and took another step to claiming the Barclay’s Premier League title. The fans will be somewhat disappointed with the performance, but there will be no complaints about the result.
MOTM: Cesc Fabregas – Fabregas had a good, solid game, amidst some criticism in the media that his performances had dropped off recently. He also assisted on Costa’s goal.