Chelsea’s defense unraveled again as Hull City fought back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, climbing to third in the Premier League. Elsewhere, Liverpool were held scoreless by a struggling Fulham side, and Aston Villa fell to a Nottingham Forest side inspired by former Chelsea striker Liam Delap.
Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea can score with anyone in the Premier League right now. Whether they can stop anyone is a different question entirely — and Saturday at Stamford Bridge gave the rest of the league another look at both sides of that coin.
Chelsea 2-2 Hull City: A Familiar Story at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea did what Chelsea has been doing all season: scored early, scored well, and then handed the game right back. Morgan Rogers put the hosts ahead inside seven minutes, ghosting past Regan Slater and drilling a finish past goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis at the near post — the product of a slick move started by Cole Palmer and João Pedro.
It lasted 21 minutes.
Hull, who hadn’t conceded a goal in three straight matches before kickoff, needed just one real attack of their own to expose Chelsea’s cracks. Malo Gusto and Jorrel Hato both failed to deal with a bouncing ball into the box, and Mohamed Belloumi punished the hesitation with a first-time volley for his maiden Premier League goal. Minutes before halftime, the same story repeated itself: Emiliano Martínez failed to claim a corner, Semi Ajayi headed the loose ball against the bar, and Belloumi arrived again to turn a deflected effort into the net. Hull went into the break in front.
Chelsea’s response, as it has been all season under Alonso, came through individual quality rather than structure. Cole Palmer — again the difference-maker — drove to the byline midway through the second half and cut the ball back for João Pedro to smash home the equalizer. Reece James rattled the post from a free kick as Chelsea searched for a winner, and Martínez atoned for his earlier error with a smart stop to deny Mohamed-Ali Cho what would have been a Hull winner late on.
The final whistle left both sides with a share of the spoils — and Chelsea with an uncomfortable statistic. In five and a half matches under Alonso against top-flight opposition, the Blues have now scored 16 goals and conceded 12. It’s box-office football, but it isn’t the kind that wins titles. For Hull, meanwhile, the point moved them to third in the table, with only defending champions Arsenal and Manchester City sitting above them — a remarkable position for a promoted side still finding its feet back in the top flight.
Liverpool Held Scoreless by a Fulham Side Fighting for Its Manager’s Job
Across London, Liverpool’s unbeaten start under Andoni Iraola hit a wall, held to a goalless draw by a Fulham side that arrived at Anfield having lost its first three league matches under new manager Álvaro Arbeloa — reportedly already fighting to save his job.
It didn’t matter. Liverpool’s attack, featuring three players who cost a combined $135 million in Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz, and Alexander Isak, couldn’t find a way past a Fulham defense that had looked shaky all season. Gonzalo García squandered a clear first-half chance for the visitors, and Alisson Becker produced a superb save to deny Josh King what would have been a stunning winner. Boos rang out around Anfield by full time — a rare sound for a Liverpool side that remains unbeaten, but one that captures just how flat the performance was. The result leaves Liverpool sixth, and potentially six points off the summit if Arsenal beat Sunderland later Saturday.
Aston Villa’s Nightmare Continues
There was no such frustration for Nottingham Forest, who handed Aston Villa a 2-1 defeat at Villa Park to leave the Midlands club rooted in the relegation zone — a stunning fall for a side that beat Forest in last season’s Europa League semifinal on the way to their first trophy in 30 years.
The damage was done by an unlikely source: Liam Delap, whose reported $61 million move from Chelsea raised plenty of eyebrows after he struggled to break through at Stamford Bridge. He answered the doubters with a long-range strike into the bottom corner to open the scoring. Villa hit back through Alysson for their first league goal of the season, but Igor Jesus restored Forest’s lead and sealed Oliver Glasner’s first win as Forest manager.
Around the Rest of the League
Forest’s win came at the expense of one former Chelsea forward, but the day brought more misery for another club altogether: Crystal Palace. Palace fell 3-2 at home to Ipswich, undone by an early red card for Axel Disasi and a stoppage-time winner from Zian Flemming — the Tractor Boys’ first goal from their new man snatching all three points at the death.
Brentford kept their unbeaten start alive thanks to a Kevin Schade brace in a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, while the Cherries continue to search for their first win of the season under Marco Rose despite leading in all four of their matches so far, before Sunday brings the pick of the weekend’s fixtures: Manchester United hosting rivals Manchester City.
