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- Chelsea maintain three-point lead
- Two Chelsea players booked for diving
- Bruce furious Cahill not shown red card
- Huddlestone sent off for Hull
Chelsea returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a scrappy victory over 10-man Hull which was marred by diving controversy.
Eden Hazard scored a header early on, but the hosts only made sure of victory after Tom Huddlestone’s 60th-minute red card for a challenge on Filipe Luis.
It was Diego Costa who eased Chelsea nerves, sweeping home from close range.
But Chelsea were far from perfect, with Willian and Costa booked for diving and Gary Cahill lucky not to be sent off.
The England defender had already been shown a yellow card for a late challenge in the first half – a tackle on Sone Aluko that Hull manager Steve Bruce thought was deserving of a straight red – and after the break the centre-back went to ground too easily inside the Hull box.
Hull’s incensed players surrounded referee Chris Foy, arguing Cahill should have been shown a second yellow for diving, but the Chelsea player escaped punishment and less than 10 minutes later a frustrated Hull were reduced to 10 men.
Football Focus’ Garth Crooks on diving |
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| “Twice, Chelsea players have dived in the first 60 minutes – first Willian and Gary Cahill. It’s disgraceful. Managers can’t say what I’m about to say – it questions the integrity of the refereeing. Is he intimidated by Stamford Bridge? The referee is not being fair. Cahill is on a yellow card and dived. He should have got another booking for that. The only conclusion you can come to is because it’s Chelsea and now the injustice has got the Hull players’ blood boiling. They’re thinking they might as well take the law into their own hands.” |
Regardless of whether Cahill deserved to be on the pitch, it was Huddlestone who was guilty of the ugliest moment of the match and rightly sent off for a terrible mistimed lunge on Filipe Luis.
Any hope Hull had of restoring parity evaporated with the former Tottenham player’s sending-off, and a team who have now won just one of their last 15 league games find themselves in a relegation scrap.
But with momentum restored following last week’s first league defeat of the season, Jose Mourinho’s side remain top of the table and maintain their three-point cushion over champions Manchester City, who beat Leicester 1-0.
Mourinho insists his players do not dive
Hull had never won at Stamford Bridge and did not look like creating history against a team who were unshakable defensively, although they lacked their usual self-assurance going forward in the absence of suspended creator-in-chief Cesc Fabregas.
But with Nemanja Matic back in the Chelsea line-up after serving a one-match ban during the 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, the hosts had ballast in midfield once more, which allowed the impressive Hazard and Oscar to cause trouble in the final third.
All three combined for Chelsea’s opening goal, with Matic finding Oscar on the left and the Brazilian floating a cross towards the unmarked Belgian, scoring with a header for only the second time in his career.
The simplicity of the opening goal, plus the sight of Michael Dawson hobbling off with a hamstring injury and Chelsea’s dominance of possession in the first 10 minutes, suggested a torrid afternoon was ahead for the visitors.
But Hull’s resistance stiffened for the remainder of the first half, and they even created a chance for Aluko, though their striker ballooned his effort wide.
BBC Sport