Chelsea 2-2 Hull: Report, result, goals as Joao Pedro rescues point

Joao Pedro’s 66th-minute strike spared Chelsea a surprise home defeat to Hull City as the Tigers remained unbeaten in the Premier League with a draw at Stamford Bridge.

Morgan Rogers fired the Blues, who had won all three of their preceding home games in all competitions, ahead in the sixth minute as Hull conceded for the first time this season.

Winger Mohamed Belloumi met Ryan Giles’ bouncing ball by lashing in to level after 28 minutes, then struck again via a deflection six minutes later after Semi Ajayi headed against the crossbar from a corner.

Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso sent on Pep Chavarria for Jorrel Hato at half-time and, after Kostantinos Tzolakis turned Blues wideman Reece James’ strike behind, Joao Pedro levelled following Cole Palmer’s electric run along the right and pass inside the box.

Chelsea vs Hull: Blues ‘find a way’ to draw

Play-off winners Hull continue to be one of the stories of the season so far in the Premier League, moving top of the live table while they were ahead before Sergej Jakirovic’s side ultimately earned their eighth point of the campaign.

Both sides went close to scoring during the closing stages, Tzolakis denying Rogers and Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez repelling Mohamed-Ali Cho’s effort.

“It’s these sort of games where Chelsea need to show the grit, composure and characters they have,” former Crystal Palace captain Joel Ward told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“These are the games that really, really matter. They’re always going to come up against the [Manchester] Uniteds, the Arsenals and the [Manchester] Cities and always be up for those sort of games.

“But it’s when they come up against Hull, Ipswich – maybe those seen as lesser teams – that they have to really find the way to win and dominate.

“That’s what makes teams successful when challenging for the title.”

Chelsea team vs Hull City

Malo Gusto and Levi Colwill were the only players to retain their places from Chelsea’s 6-3 home win over Leeds United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, recovering from 2-0 behind.

Maxence Lacroix – a summer signing from Crystal Palace – dropped to the bench for the first time this season.

Chelsea: Emiliano Martinez, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Jorrel Hato, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro

Chelsea substitutes: Mike Penders, Josh Acheampong, Valentin Barco, Pep Chavarria, Willian Estevao, Jamie Gittens, Maxence Lacroix, Geovany Quenda, Danny Welbeck

Hull City team vs Chelsea

Nobel Mendy, Lewie Coyle and Matt Crooks were Hull’s only three starting players retained from their 1-0 defeat at Sunderland in the EFL Cup on Tuesdsay.

Crooks’ inclusion was the only change from the side that started last Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa, with Lucas Gourna-Douath again on the bench.

Sorba Thomas was fit for a place on the bench despite being involved in a car accident on Friday in which the new signing was unharmed.

Hull: Kostantinos Tzolakis, Semi Ajayi, John Egan, Nobel Mendy, Lewis Coyle, Matt Crooks, Regan Slater, Ryan Giles, Mohamed Belloumi, Oli McBurnie, Elliot Stroud

Hull substitutes: Dillon Phillips, Mohamed-Ali Cho, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Lucas Herrington, Tim Iroegbunam, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Matt Targett, Sorba Thomas, Robinio Vaz

Chelsea vs Hull stats, Premier League form

• Chelsea have never lost in 11 Premier League meetings with Hull (W8 D3), only facing Portsmouth more times without losing in the competition (14)
• They have failed to win any of their last five home league games against newly promoted sides (D4 L1). Only once in the Blues’ league history had they previously gone five without a win at home to promoted opponents, doing so from April 1947 to September 1948
• Xabi Alonso’s side failed to win three successive Premier League games at Stamford Bridge for the first time since their final three of the 2024/25 campaign
• Having gone 20 games without a clean sheet in the league, Chelsea are on their longest such run since a sequence of 31 between November 1960 and August 1961 (31 games) and 22 from April to November 1953
• Hull have never won in 19 league visits to Chelsea (D4 L15), which is the most they have faced any team away in the top four tiers without winning
• They failed to become the first team since Manchester City in 2015/16 to keep a clean sheet in each of their first four matches of the Premier League season with no promoted side ever achieving the feat
• Victory at Coventry City on August 29 was Hull’s first in six league away games (D2 L3). They also drew at Stoke City and lost at Sunderland in this season’s EFL Cup, although they beat Millwall away in the Championship play-offs on May 11 and defeat Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium 12 days later to win promotion
• Before this game, only Newcastle United (28%) had spent more time in a low block during opposition build-up than Hull in the Premier League this season (26.5%)
• Oli McBurnie made his 100th Premier League appearance and had made 258 high-intensity pressures so far in the Premier League this season before kick-off, which was 74 more than any other player