[Match Report]: CHELSEA 2 - 0 HULL
Jose Mourinho made a winning return to the
Chelsea dugout as his side beat Hull City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the
Barclays Premier League.
Frank Lampard was denied the first goal of the
Portuguese's comeback when Allan McGregor saved his early penalty, but Chelsea
were ahead shortly after when Oscar completed a flowing move with a poked
finish. The hosts' lead was doubled by Lampard when he smashed home a free-kick
from distance to set up a second half in which Premier League new-boys Hull
battled valiantly to stay in touch with their opponents.
Mourinho handed starts to two stalwarts of his
first spell at the club, with John Terry and Lampard returning at centre-back
and in central midfield respectively. Hull manager Steve Bruce abandoned the
3-5-2 formation that served his side so well in Championship last season to
deploy a 4-3-3 set-up with loanee striker Danny Graham leading the line.
The build-up to Sunday's game had focused on
Mourinho's return to Chelsea, and the Portuguese's second stint in charge
appeared set for a dream start when Hull goalkeeper McGregor wandered to the
edge of his box to fell Fernando Torres with five minutes gone and concede a
penalty. But the Scot would earn himself an instant reprieve, diving low to his
right to pound away Lampard's well-hit spot-kick and keep the scores level.
It would take just under seven minutes for Chelsea
to grab the breakthrough, when a fine exchange allowed Kevin De Bruyne to work
space and the Belgian picked out a slide-rule pass that Oscar poked under
McGregor's dive.
Lampard went close with a drive inside the box in
the immediate aftermath of the first goal, but he eventually also got on the
scoresheet midway through the first half courtesy of a ferocious 30-yard
free-kick that dipped over the visiting goalkeeper. The second was little more
than Chelsea had deserved, and they began to play with a degree of comfort
rarely seen in a season-opening fixture after carving out a two-goal advantage.
They even almost added a third just before
half-time, only for McGregor to prevent a Branislav Ivanovic header from
crossing the line - a fact confirmed by the use of the Premier League's new
Goal Decision System.
The second half started at a leisurely pace, with
Chelsea happy to spend the opening 15 minutes keeping possession and stamping
out Hull hopes of a meaningful counter-attack with ruthless defending. This
prompted visiting manager Bruce to make a double substitution, with
close-season acquisitions from Tottenham Hotspur Jake Livermore and Tom
Huddlestone replacing David Meyler and Graham as Hull searched for a way back
into the match.
A chipped effort from substitute Andre Schurrle
was the closest either side came to scoring again in the final moments of the
match.
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