Chelsea vs Hull City

Chelsea have scored inside the first five minutes of every single Premier League game they have played this season before this. Here, they could not do it again — they instead took seven minutes. And who else but Morgan Rogers to do it once more after his opener against Arsenal in the second minute last week. Barely had Hull begun to get its bearings at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea struck — the pattern was established, and Stamford Bridge settled into the comfortable expectation of a home win against a promoted side. Then Mohamed Belloumi happened — twice — and nothing was comfortable any more.

Going back to the opening few minutes — everything went according to Chelsea’s plan. Rogers opened the scoring in the seventh minute with another delightful finish that eluded the gloves of Hull goalkeeper Tsolakis — it was the first goal Hull had conceded in the Premier League this season. The newly promoted club had gone two hundred and seventy-six minutes without conceding a goal until the peach of a finish from Rogers. One-nil. Business as usual at Stamford Bridge. Hull City seemed to fall back to earth after their dream start to the Premier League.

It took Belloumi twenty-one minutes to completely shift the momentum, and the sentiment in the crowd. Ryan Giles sent a high cross from the left which seemed fairly innocuous at first — but Chelsea defender Hato got it really wrong, misjudging the ball and letting it bounce over his head straight to the feet of Belloumi. The Algerian — just twenty-three years old, but extremely confident in his own abilities — with all the time in the world, hit a first-time finish past Martínez into the back of the net. One-one. Stamford Bridge was stunned. Hull’s away end was not.

Six minutes later, he did it again. Belloumi this time hit a shot from outside the box that deflected off multiple Chelsea defenders before finding itself at the back of the net, past Emi Martínez who did not know where the ball was going. Lucky — one could say. But if he had not tried, he would not have scored. Two-one to Hull City at half-time. The Blues were losing at home to a promoted side. The Belloumi double was the story of the season so far.

Chelsea came out with even more urgency in the second half. They pressed higher, moved the ball quicker, and created a succession of half-chances that suggested the equaliser was a matter of when rather than if. It ultimately arrived in the sixty-sixth minute through João Pedro — the Brazilian striker fired a powerful finish with the kind of quality that helped him be selected as Premier League Player of the Month in August. Two-two. The ground woke up.

Chelsea pushed for a winner that would not come. Every single threat they threw at Hull was neutralised effectively. But Hull City did not simply defend. They pressed when they needed to, held their shape when they needed to, and looked every inch a team managed by someone with a clear idea. Their attacking transitions remained dangerous throughout — forcing the Chelsea defence to stay on its toes until the very end to keep the scores level. Two-two at the final whistle. Hull: four games, two wins, two draws, eight points. Fourth in the Premier League. Chelsea: seven points, second best attack in the division, and a defence that seemingly cannot stop anyone. battleSTAR Galáctico: Mohamed Belloumi — two goals, two composed finishes, the best individual performance from any promoted player this season. The Couch is noting this name early.