Hull Shock Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as Belloumi Strikes Twice

LONDON — Hull City reached the summit of the live Premier League table on Saturday after recovering from an early deficit at Stamford Bridge to take a -1 lead over Chelsea. Algerian winger Mohamed Belloumi scored twice for the newly promoted side.

The fixture kicked off at 15:00 BST (10:00 a.m. ET) and was not selected for live television broadcast within the United Kingdom. Live coverage was distributed globally via the Premier League’s international broadcast partners.

Chelsea had won eight and drawn two of their previous 10 Premier League meetings with Hull, while Hull had never won a league fixture in 18 visits to Stamford Bridge, recording three draws and 15 defeats. The clubs’ historical record was tested after Chelsea took the lead in the seventh minute.

£117 million summer acquisition Morgan Rogers collected Joao Pedro’s pass on the left side of the penalty area, shifted the ball onto his left foot, and drove a low shot beyond Hull goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis into the bottom corner. Former Crystal Palace captain Joel Ward, analyzing the match for BBC Radio 5 Live, described it as a low-driven strike that Tzolakis could not reach in time.

Hull’s starting lineup had one change from the side that drew 0-0 against Aston Villa in its previous league fixture, with Matt Crooks replacing Lucas Gourna-Douath in midfield. Crooks, Nobel Mendy, and Lewie Coyle were the only players retained from the starting XI that lost 1-0 at Sunderland in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

Ryan Giles then sent a bouncing pass into space inside the 18-yard box in the 28th minute. Belloumi met it cleanly and struck a firm finish into the bottom corner to equalize. Ward said Hull remained solid after the early setback and capitalised on its chances after catching Chelsea off-guard.

Chelsea’s front line of Cole Palmer, Rogers, and Joao Pedro continued to pose a transition threat, according to Ward. Hull’s next goal came from a corner-kick sequence: Semi Ajayi’s header crashed off the crossbar before the rebound reached Belloumi, whose subsequent strike took a deflection on its way into the net.

Jakirovic selected Tzolakis in goal behind a back three of Ajayi, John Egan, and Mendy. Coyle, Crooks, Regan Slater, and Giles formed the midfield unit, while Belloumi and Will Stroud supported Oli McBurnie up front. McBurnie was making his 100th Premier League appearance and entered the contest leading the top flight with 258 high-intensity pressures, 74 more than any other player in the division.

The result extended a strong top-flight start for head coach Sergej Jakirovic’s side. Hull had collected seven points from its previous three Premier League matches without conceding a goal, while under Jakirovic the team had spent 26.5% of its time in a low block during opponent build-up play, the second-highest rate in the Premier League behind Newcastle United’s 28%.

Hull earned promotion to the top division in May by beating Millwall in the Championship play-off semifinal on May 11 and defeating Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium 12 days later on May 23. A 1-0 victory at Coventry City on Aug. 29 had ended a six-match winless away run in league play.

Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso entered the match with a defensive problem. Chelsea had gone 19 consecutive Premier League matches without a clean sheet, the club’s longest such run since a 22-game stretch between April and November 1953 and a 31-game sequence from November 1960 to August 1961.

The Blues had also been winless in their previous four home league matches against newly promoted teams, with three draws and one loss. Chelsea had not gone five straight home matches without beating a promoted side since a run spanning April 1947 to September 1948.

Alonso made nine changes to the team that started Wednesday’s 6-3 EFL Cup home victory over Leeds United, when Chelsea recovered from a 2-0 deficit. Only defender Malo Gusto and center-back Levi Colwill kept their places from that midweek lineup, while summer signing Maxence Lacroix was dropped to the substitute bench for the first time this season.

Chelsea started with Emiliano Martinez in goal behind Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Colwill, and Jorrel Hato. Reece James and Romeo Lavia anchored midfield, with Pedro Neto, Palmer, and Rogers positioned behind central striker Joao Pedro. Lacroix, Josh Acheampong, Valentin Barco, Lucas Chavarria, Estevao, Jamie Gittens, Mike Penders, Geovany Quenda, and Danny Welbeck were named among the substitutes.

Hull’s substitutes included Sorba Thomas, who was cleared for the squad after being involved in a vehicle collision on Friday in which he was unharmed. Gourna-Douath, Young-woo Cho, Matty Herrington, Tim Iroegbunam, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Nathaniel Phillips, Matt Targett, and Gustavo Vaz also took places on the bench.