Xabi Alonso has called for Chelsea to become less entertaining and more disciplined after defensive mistakes allowed Hull City to fight back for a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea took an early lead through Morgan Rogers in the seventh minute, but Mohamed Belloumi scored twice in the first half to put the visitors ahead.
Joao Pedro eventually rescued a point for the Blues with a 66th-minute equaliser, but Chelsea could not find a winning goal despite sustained pressure late in the game.
The result extended Hull’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season to four matches, with the newly promoted side moving to eight points.
Chelsea, meanwhile, were left with seven points from their opening four league games.
Rogers had given Chelsea the perfect start when he finished after Joao Pedro’s involvement in the move.
But Hull responded in the 28th minute when Belloumi capitalised on uncertainty in the Chelsea defence.
The Algerian forward struck again six minutes later, turning the match on its head before half-time.
Chelsea improved after the break and eventually levelled when Cole Palmer’s cut-back found Joao Pedro, who fired home in the 66th minute.
Hull remained dangerous and almost snatched all three points late on, but Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez helped preserve the point for the hosts.
Speaking after the game, Alonso admitted he would prefer Chelsea to produce less spectacular matches if that meant securing victories.
“Maybe entertaining, but I hope one day you’ll say it was a boring game and we win,” the Spanish coach said.
Alonso acknowledged that defensive errors were becoming a recurring problem for his team.
“It kind of repeats some patterns that we are making. It will take time to fix them,” he said.
“When we get the lead, you still need to be competing and not give the chance so easily for them to come back.”
Chelsea have now conceded nine goals in their first four Premier League matches, while scoring 10.
The defensive concerns come despite a major overhaul of Alonso’s squad during the summer, with the club spending heavily on new players.
The contrast between Chelsea’s attacking strength and defensive weakness has been evident since the start of the campaign.
They also conceded three goals against Leeds in midweek before recovering to win the League Cup third-round tie 6-3.
Alonso admitted that Chelsea currently look more dangerous going forward than they do at the back.
“Overall I think that we are attacking better than defending,” he said.
“It’s a big topic and a big theme for us. It’s just four games, but the dynamic in terms of conceding, I don’t like it.”
For Hull, the draw continued an impressive return to the Premier League.
Manager Sergej Jakirovic’s side are unbeaten after four matches and have already picked up notable results against established top-flight opposition.
Chelsea must now address their defensive problems quickly if Alonso’s side are to turn their attacking quality into consistent wins.
The coach appears to have a simple solution: fewer chaotic games, fewer mistakes and, ideally, more “boring” victories.
