5 Things Learned From Chelsea's 2-2 Premier League Draw With Hull City

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Absolute Chelsea

·12 September 2026

5 Things Learned From Chelsea's 2-2 Premier League Draw With Hull City

Hull City held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon despite Morgan Rogers' early opener.

It was a familiar storyline at Stamford Bridge, albeit without the happy ending.

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Chelsea got an early lead, this time just seven minutes into the game, through Rogers, who drilled it low past Konstantinos Tzolakis at the near post.

It was Rogers’ third goal for Chelsea, and his seventh direct goal contribution across all competitions. The club-record signing has so far proved that spending big on him was not a mistake.

Unfortunately, Chelsea have been vulnerable after an early lead under Xabi Alonso, and this time was no exception.

Hull levelled the score in the 28th minute, from what should not have been a dangerous chance in the first place. It started with a Tzolakis long goal kick. Malo Gusto somehow allowed Ryan Giles to launch a desperate cross from the left flank, before Mohamed Belloumi punished Jorrel Hato’s poor defensive awareness inside the box.

The Algerian winger levelled the score, which meant Chelsea once again failed to record a clean sheet in the Premier League. Six minutes later, he gave the visitors the lead.

Emiliano Martinez was lucky when Semi Ajayi only hit the bar after the goalkeeper’s poor attempt to claim a high ball from a Hull corner. But Hull kept the ball alive and found Belloumi unmarked on the edge of the box. He did not waste his chance to score his second goal of the afternoon.

It took Chelsea some time before they found another opening to equalise.

Cole Palmer beat his defender on the left wing before sending a low ball into the near post that found Joao Pedro. The Brazil international struck it over Tzolakis, maintaining his fine goalscoring form this season.

Here are five things learned from Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Hull.

It made sense on paper that Chelsea wanted more width from an additional winger, in this case Pedro Neto, to break down Hull’s resilient back-five.

Playing Reece James in midfield instead of his natural right-back position likely raised some eyebrows as well, although Moises Caicedo’s injury absence likely influenced Alonso’s decision.

Poor defensive record looks less like a bad patch

Individual mistakes certainly played a big part in both goals Chelsea conceded in this game, but these do not fully explain why Hull created more big chances (four) than the hosts (two). It certainly does not explain Chelsea’s nine conceded goals from four matches.

It is early in the season, and Alonso will have time to address the defensive issues, but this should be the priority.

Front three saved the day again

The reason Chelsea have been able to get away with their poor defence is that they have three outstanding attackers on red-hot form: Rogers, Palmer, and Joao Pedro.

Each of the trio directly contributed to Chelsea’s two goals: Rogers scored the first, and Palmer set up Joao Pedro for the second.

Despite their form, expecting them to continue to make up for the problems at the other end of the pitch is just not sustainable in the long run.

Alonso may want a more consistent backline

It is hard to blame the Chelsea manager for experimenting with different defensive setups amid the poor form, but this may also have made it harder for the defence to build partnerships at the back.

Especially with two new goalkeepers in the team, Martinez and Mike Penders, who need to adapt to the defenders in front of them.

It is safe to assume that Alonso is not even sure about his preferred back three or back five as it stands. Are Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill ahead of Maxence Lacroix in the pecking order?