Chelsea vs Hull: The One Where Results Went Chelsea's Way

Costa tries to bring back the chicken dance

I will fully hold my hands up - my cynical side reared its ugly head on the weekend. You know the part of you that says if it seems too good to be true, it probably is? Saturday’s results all seemed to fall suspiciously in Chelsea’s favour and I was having none of it. Secret agent Paul Clement getting the job done early at Anfield. Little Juan Mata sacrificing himself and his budding relationship with Jose Mourinho for two points dropped at Stoke. Manchester City giving Claudio Bravo a two goal head start.

Burnley were seconds away from claiming their second away point of the season. But it wasn’t to be. Arsenal’s late win may just have been the black mark on opposition results falling oddly in Chelsea’s favour that we needed. Or at least I needed. Until that moment I thought Chelsea would waste their opportunity to widen the gap at the top. So once again, cheers Arsenal.

It wasn’t the most attractive of games - but it didn’t have to be. The result is the only thing that matters. And if you have any real complaints about the performance as a whole — get out. If you have specific complaints - such as Antonio Conte continuing to allow Victor Moses to take throw-ins, then by all means, crack on. And if you are reading this Don Antonio — just say no to VicMo.

It’s difficult to praise the opposition without sounding patronising. But here we go. Despite Marco Silva not being with the club for long, there’s already a shift in Hull’s performances. They look to have more of an identity now than they did under Mike Phelan - even when the results were going their way. Arguably Hull gave Chelsea a better game than most teams at Stamford Bridge have managed this season. While West Brom set out to frustrate, Silva’s side came out at Chelsea. And if it weren’t for a couple of good saves from Thibaut Courtois and a lack of penalty, Chelsea might not have walked away with the points on Sunday. Harry Maguire was annoyingly involved in just about everything.

Serious question - since joining Chelsea just how many times has Gary Cahill had a head injury? There was a time it seemed he was taking a serious knock or having his nose broken on a worryingly regular basis. After the collision with Ryan Mason it was shocking that he was allowed to continue on. Reports today suggest that Mason was speaking in hospital, so hopefully its a speedy recovery for him. Thoughts are with him and his family.

While the medics were taking every precaution with Mason to ensure his safety, did anyone else think that a chord of fear was struck within Chelsea players? After a few moments of nervous looks towards their own technical area it appeared that Chelsea’s players started running passing drills amongst themselves. While its sensible to not let your muscles cool down over a stretch of time - I suspect it may have been done more for a tiny Italian rather than their own benefit.

Before the game there was speculation about Diego Costa. Obviously. 1) Whether he would be restored to the starting XI and 2) whether Chelsea fans would ‘boo’ the Sprazilian … how were either of these actually a question by otherwise sensible people? Even if there’s a little bit of pot-stirring going on there can’t be a single person who honestly thought he might not start or he’d get anything other than the reception he gets week in, week out. Even if he hadn’t scored, his name would be sung from every corner of Stamford Bridge.

But score he did. Obviously. The only thing that surprised me was that he didn’t walk away with more than one goal. It wasn’t for lack of trying. While some performances on the pitch could be best described as middling, Costa played with a point to prove. A dangerous prospect for defensive unit. My only disappointment was that his goal celebration was a faux back injury similar to Samuel Eto’o’s old man one against Tottenham.

Chelsea’s other goal came from that hard as nails northerner Gary Cahill. But actually from Cesc Fàbregas. While Cahill’s incredibly unscathed head got on the end of it, that ball basically floated itself in from Fàbregas’ boot. The moment he was introduced into the game, Chelsea looked a lot more incisive. I realise I mention it just about every time he plays - but his ability to pick out a pass is second to none. He and Costa make a formidable pair and were unlucky not to finish that chance in the 83rd minute.

Next up in the league for Chelsea are Liverpool and Arsenal, two of their closest title rivals. Lose both and they make things unnecessarily competitive for themselves — but ultimately remain top. But let’s not do that. Competition schmompetition. 

Roll on four round of the cup and bring on the bees!

jb xx