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Hull City vs. Chelsea: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League Match
- Updated: October 1, 2016
Chelsea returned to winning ways in the 2016-17 Premier League season on Saturday, beating Hull City 2-0.
Hull held a slight edge in the first half but the Blues took control after the break, and Willian gave his team the lead just past the hour mark. Diego Costa doubled the score shortly after, setting up Chelsea for a much-needed win.
As shared by Chelsea’s official Twitter account, summer signing Marcos Alonso was handed a start, while there was no space in the starting XI for Cesc Fabregas, Oscar and Branislav Ivanovic:
Team to face Hull City: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Alonso, Cahill (c), David Luiz, Kante, Matic, Moses, Willian, Hazard, Diego Costa. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 1, 2016
The Blues came out in a three-man defence, as manager Antonio Conte tried to shake things up after a few difficult weeks, but the first chance still fell to Hull. Robert Snodgrass’ free-kick took a deflection off the wall, but Thibaut Courtois responded beautifully to make his first save.
Hull dealt with the three-man back line well, finding tons of space down the centre of the pitch early. The same issues that have plagued Chelsea for weeks persisted, with Costa seeing little of the ball and the midfield struggling to cope with the Tigers’ pace.
David Luiz fired a free-kick into the wall before Willian nearly picked out Costa with a cross, while on the other side of the pitch, a dangerous cross from Snodgrass caused all kinds of problems.
Sports writer Dan Levene thought it was clear the Blues were still working out their new system:
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