Hull City vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match
Chelsea returned to winning ways in the 2016-17 Premier League season on Saturday, beating Hull City 2-0.
Hull held a slight edge in the first half but the Blues took control after the break, and Willian gave his team the lead just past the hour mark. Diego Costa doubled the score shortly after, setting up Chelsea for a much-needed win.
As shared by Chelsea's official Twitter account, summer signing Marcos Alonso was handed a start, while there was no space in the starting XI for Cesc Fabregas, Oscar and Branislav Ivanovic:
The Blues came out in a three-man defence, as manager Antonio Conte tried to shake things up after a few difficult weeks, but the first chance still fell to Hull. Robert Snodgrass' free-kick took a deflection off the wall, but Thibaut Courtois responded beautifully to make his first save.
Hull dealt with the three-man back line well, finding tons of space down the centre of the pitch early. The same issues that have plagued Chelsea for weeks persisted, with Costa seeing little of the ball and the midfield struggling to cope with the Tigers' pace.
David Luiz fired a free-kick into the wall before Willian nearly picked out Costa with a cross, while on the other side of the pitch, a dangerous cross from Snodgrass caused all kinds of problems.
Sports writer Dan Levene thought it was clear the Blues were still working out their new system:
Victor Moses wanted a penalty after some light contact in the box, to no avail, and David Marshall did well to gather a corner kick from Willian, as the Blues improved throughout the first half. Hull remained dangerous, however, with Snodgrass providing most of the creative touches.
Markus Henriksen had a shot blocked, and team-mate Jake Livermore came dangerously close to an early shower after a trip on Eden Hazard while carrying a booking.
The final chance of the half fell to Hull, as Ryan Mason drew another fine save from Courtois, with Luiz looking shaky in the buildup.
At half-time, Rik Sharma of Sport wasn't too impressed with the visitors:
Hazard started the second half with a bang, shaking his marker before going on a surging run that ended with Marshall making a stop. Chelsea took control of the ball and Hull had few answers, with the three-man defence now doing its job.
Confusion got the better of the hosts, with Adama Diomande even tackling a team-mate to stop a counter at one point.
The Blues should have taken the lead after 58 minutes as Costa beat Marshall, but he saw his effort hit the post, and N'Golo Kante somehow fired the rebound over.
Chelsea's official Twitter account couldn't believe it:
A goal for Chelsea seemed inevitable, and it was Willian who finally broke the deadlock minutes later. The Brazilian took a pass from Costa, cut inside and fired a great shot outside of the reach of Marshall, giving the visitors a deserved lead.
Former England international Gary Lineker loved the strike:
Costa almost made it 2-0 shortly after, with Marshall producing a save, but the Spain international had more luck in the 67th minute, as he slotted home a rebound after Nemanja Matic's initial shot was blocked.
Hull could barely fight back, with Courtois easily collecting a Snodgrass cross to take care of the only danger the hosts produced. The Blues kept up the pressure, and Costa nearly doubled his tally after a free-kick from Willian.
The Blues easily played out the match from that point, picking up three well-deserved points. Pedro even came close to a third goal after lovely work from Alonso.
Per Chelsea's official Twitter account, Conte was happy with the amount of chances his team created:
Chelsea's next outing will be at home against Leicester City, while Hull travel to Bournemouth.
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