Three Key Talking Points From Hull vs Chelsea (2-3): Hull Exploit Chelsea’s Weakness

Chelsea moved six points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to Loic Remy’s late winner. The Blues started all guns blazing and took the lead within 87 seconds as Eden Hazard took Diego Costa’s ball in his path and smashed home his 16th goal of the season from 20 yards. Diego Costa doubled Chelsea’s lead before 10th minute as he curled in a beautiful strike, his 20th of the season, from Cesc Fabregas’ through ball.

But Hull refused to roll over as they scored two goals in 74 seconds to draw things level. First Ahmed Elmohamady tapped home from close range following wonderful work from Andy Robertson on the left flank. Abel Hernandez who missed an earlier opportunity when the score was just 1-0 scored following Thibaut Courtois’ error to give Steve Bruce’s side a chance going into half-time. But Remy scored with his first touch, after replacing the injured Costa in the second half.

Here are the major talking points from the game.

Is the title race over?

1. Three points is all that matters for Chelsea

This felt like the sort of game that was going to be a walk in the park. For the first 20 minutes, that certainly looked as though, it was going to be the case. But Hull’s spirited fightback ensured that it was a competitive game that went down to the wire.

But at the end of the day, Chelsea won. They are now six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand. If you had told Mourinho before the start of the game that his team would win without putting in a convincing performance, he would have taken that. Especially considering the rest of the top four all won this weekend. If the Blues did drop a couple of points at the KC Stadium, then there might have been a few questions asked about his team selection and how his team set out to play. But Mourinho’s men did just enough to win and that is all that matters with just nine games to go in the season.

2. Hull exploit Chelsea’s weakness

Although Chelsea sit at the top of the league with a six-point lead, Hull showed what PSG and a couple of other teams have always proved this season, they are not unbeatable. As ruthless and effective as Chelsea are, they still are nowhere near as effective defensively compared to Mourinho’s first stint in charge of the club. Gary Cahill’s form has dipped alarmingly since December and at times Branislav Ivanovic’s tendency to rampage forward is causing problems at the back.

In the first half, Hull exploited both of these faults expertly. Instead of pinging in aimless long balls towards the center backs, they tried to isolate Cahill and use his lack of pace against him. On the left flank, Andy Robertson, who has been a revelation this season tore Ivanovic apart. The Serb looked out of sorts in the first half and looked as though he was a calamity waiting to happen. Even the ever-impressive Thibaut Courtois was at fault for a goal. While that may be down to sheer bad luck, the performance of the other two isn’t and if Arsenal, Manchester United, and Liverpool can exploit Chelsea’s lack of pace in defense, then there might yet be a title race on the cards.

3. Hull in real danger of drop

 

With Hull just three points ahead of the drop zone and still in danger of being dragged back into the dogfight for the final relegation spot, it was surprising to see that Steve Bruce was given a new three-year rolling contract last week. Especially considering the fact that the FA Cup final aside 2014 wasn’t a great year for Hull. They won just seven league games in the calendar and haven’t had the greatest of starts to this year as well.

While the spirit they showed against Chelsea was certainly impressive, they will need to maintain that for the rest of the season if they are to stay up. Because, six of their last eight games are against sides in the top half and the task will only become greater. The home game against Burnley in May, will certainly take greater significance considering their difficult run-in.  And while the banner, “In Bruce we trust,” is certainly heartwarming, the fans will start to turn on him soon if his side doesn’t end their four-game run without a win soon.