Chelsea Focus On Unbeaten Away Record To Beat Hull

After all the fuss that was made over Chelsea’s defeat to Liverpool, with some insane questions raised regarding the effect that one defeat could have on our season, it would seem the answer is: Chelsea would pick themselves up and get back on with the job against Hull.

Because in the surprising battle of second and third placed sides, it was Chelsea who came away with the points.

A stunning Lampard chip (am I flattering him there I wonder?) and some suicidal Hull defending which saw Nicolas Anelka pinch a second, just about finished Hull off, with Florent Malouda sealing a deserved win on the night.

 

Hull stated their intentions from the off, coming straight out at us, hassling Chelsea off the ball. However, it took Chelsea just three minutes to do what they couldn’t at the weekend and breach the opposition’s defence.

 

It’s fair to say a little bit of luck saw the ball land on the corner of the penalty area in front of Lampard. However, it definitely wasn’t luck that saw it drift into the top of the net as Lampard chipped it sublimely over the watching Myhill.

 

It wasn’t Chelsea’s best ever first half display that followed though, with plenty to get frustrated about.

 

Malouda again had me wanting to headbutt the nearest wall, with the seemingly fragile winger pushed off the ball a little too easily and squandering way too many chances for my liking.

 

There was Lampard delivering a clever ball only for the Frenchman appearing to aim it somewhere in the direction of SW6 with his head, there was intricate footwork to carve out opportunities only to see him snatch at shots, there were chances flashed over when it might actually have been easier to hit the net, in fact, you name it and Malouda had done it.

 

But Malouda was by no means the only source of frustration in a first half where Anelka didn’t appear to touch the ball inside the first ten minutes and Joe Cole touched a little more than the ball within the same time frame and ended up with a booking for his first challenge.

 

Add to that the sight of Geovanni being blown over right under the ref’s nose by what could only have been a hurricane-like breeze and the official giving him no more than a kiss on the ear.

 

Talking of the Brazilian, I guess this review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the cracking free-kick from 40 yards out which forced Petr Cech to react pretty quickly. It was nothing if not a confident strike, and the Brazilian is definitely confident.

 

But he wasn’t alone because fair play to Hull, they responded well despite the early set back and could well have caught us on the break.

 

Unfortunately for them though, with the help of a moment of some pretty slapstick defending, Chelsea started the second in exactly the same way as the first, with Nicolas Anelka seizing the gift of his first and Chelsea’s second.

 

And whether it was the goal, which definitely put a smile on Le Sulk’s face, or possible words exchanged during the break, the second half saw a more energetic display from the Frenchman, who played with some of the enthusiasm he’d shown at the start of the campaign.

 

Not that it was all good at the start of the second, with a decidedly pained looking Joe Cole reaching for his foot before being swiftly exchanged for Juliano Belletti and John Terry not looking too healthy either around the hour mark.

 

Mind you, with it being the tenth anniversary of his debut game, it definitely would’ve taken some extreme pain to force the Chelsea captain off in this one.

 

Anyway, the second half for Malouda looked to be going much the same as the first with him having trouble sorting his feet out and firing over and yet, just when it looked as if his woeful night in front of goal would again end in 90 minutes of nothingness, a period of Chelsea dominance and lovely ball off the outside of Ricardo Carvalho’s boot saw a relieved Malouda tap in Chelsea’s third.

 

As for Carvalho, what looked like a hamstring injury saw him leave the field a few minutes from the end, leaving Chelsea to play out the game with ten men and no doubt our central defender will have yet another spell on the sidelines this season.

 

Credit has to go to a Hull side who unfortunately face a trip to Old Trafford at the weekend.

 

They gave a good account of themselves and just happened to concede our first two goals at the worst possible times.

 

It was by no means a walk in the park for a Chelsea side still not playing anywhere near their best but it was a professional and determined performance which even saw some pretty comfortable, exhibition stuff towards the end and maybe answered one or two of the questions over Chelsea’s character.

 

And strangely enough, after all the fuss made about that home record, it seems that so far this season we prefer life away from Stamford Bridge.

 

 

Teams

 

Hull: Myhill, Dawson, Zayatte, Turner, McShane, Geovanni, Marney (Garcia, 71), Boateng (Halmosi, 62), Ashbee, King (Windass, 84), Cousin

 

Chelsea: Cech, Bosingwa (Ivanovic 86), Terry, Carvalho, A.Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Deco (Kalou, 78), J.Cole (Belletti, 54), Anelka, Malouda