Hull City Shock Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

At the same time Liverpool were being held by Fulham, the other shock of the afternoon was unfolding in west London. Hull City, tipped by many to be cannon fodder this season, walked into Stamford Bridge and walked out with their unbeaten start still intact.

They didn’t fluke it. They earned it.

Chelsea’s front three keep delivering

From a Fantasy perspective, Chelsea are becoming oddly simple to read. If you’re going to back them, you know exactly where to look.

Morgan Rogers (£7.7m), Cole Palmer (£9.7m) and Joao Pedro (£7.8m) once again carried the threat. The Hull fixture had been circled for weeks as a potential points avalanche, especially by those strapping the armband – or even the Triple Captain chip – to Palmer. The explosion never quite came, but the numbers still stacked up.

Pedro slipped Rogers in for a fierce early opener, the winger smashing home to settle any early nerves. When Chelsea wobbled later, Palmer took control, drilling a low cross for Pedro to turn in a second-half equaliser that spared serious embarrassment.

Eight points for Palmer, five for Rogers, 12 for Pedro. Respectable returns from a game that never really caught fire for them. Strip away the goals and assists and you see how fine the margins were: Pedro’s entire output came from his only shot and his only key pass of the afternoon. Beyond a late opening that Palmer created for Rogers, the much-hyped ‘JP Morgan’ combination didn’t carve out a flood of clear chances.

Even so, those three have now combined for 14 attacking returns in four Gameweeks. The attack is doing its job.

The defence is doing the opposite

While the front line hums, the back line stutters. Hull, a newly promoted side still being sized up by the division, out-created Chelsea on expected goals – and did so comfortably. It was the first time this season the Tigers had won the xG battle in a Premier League match.

Xabi Alonso didn’t hide from the issue.

“Overall, I think that we are attacking better than defending, in every part. We know that it’s a big topic and a big theme for us. For sure, it’s just four games, but the dynamic in terms of conceding, I don’t like it, and we need to do much better. Open play, set-pieces, long balls, this toughness, this competitive sense; we can do better.”

He’s right. Chelsea look soft.

The constant tinkering is not helping. Maxence Lacroix (£6.0m) dropped to the bench here, meaning only one defender, Jorell Hato (£4.5m), had started all four league matches. Even that streak ended at the break: Hato was hauled off at half-time after a torrid 45 minutes.

The shape is in flux as well. Alonso went with a 4-2-3-1, a system trialled in pre-season, and Chelsea never looked settled. Hull carved them open repeatedly, racking up four big chances to Chelsea’s two. For a side with top-four ambitions, that imbalance on their own pitch is damning.

The numbers paint it starkly. Chelsea sit worryingly high in the table for big chances conceded over the first four Gameweeks. If you own Kevin Schade (£6.0m) or Igor Thiago (£7.9m), you can line them up against this back line in Gameweek 5 without much fear.

Hull’s fairytale start gathers pace

This wasn’t quite a repeat of the famous “London 0-4 Hull” coupon-buster of old, but for Hull supporters it must have felt almost as sweet. Another heavyweight, another upset, another week where the predictions look silly.

Yes, they’ll likely cool off at some point. Newly promoted sides often do once the novelty wears off and the league adjusts. But this is no plucky, overmatched outfit scraping by on luck. Hull are organised, brave and, crucially, well-coached.

Sergej Jakirovic has become one of the most intriguing figures in the division. His press conferences mix tactical clarity with dry humour, but his team talk on the pitch. They’ve already shown they can dig in and suffer; here, they showed they can punch back.

For half an hour, Hull barely touched the ball. Chelsea dominated, the crowd settled, the script looked familiar. Then Mohamed Belloumi (£5.0m) ripped it up.

His thumping half-volley equaliser changed the mood entirely. Suddenly Hull believed. Belloumi started to drift into dangerous pockets, then cleverly laid a chance on for Lewis Coyle (£4.0m), whose shot was blocked. The Algerian winger then saw his effort deflect in for Hull’s second, the away end erupting as Stamford Bridge fell quiet.

The chances kept coming. Oli McBurnie (£5.5m) had a golden opportunity to make it 3-1, only to be denied. Substitute Mohamed Ali-Cho (£5.0m) also saw a huge chance saved. The xG map told the story: big, dangerous chances, right in Chelsea’s throat.

Newcastle United will have taken note ahead of next weekend.

Mendy blow mars a big point

Hull’s only real sour note came with Nobel Mendy’s (£4.1m) injury. The centre-back came off worse in a clash of heads with Joao Pedro and was forced off after 58 minutes. He has yet to complete 70 minutes in a league game this season, and this latest setback looks serious.

“Yeah, not good. I think we are thinking it’s a concussion. He went to the hospital and after head scan, we will know more, but it’s concussion 100%.

“Mendy will be out, 100%, so we need to find a new player,” Jakirovic confirmed.

The immediate solution is clear. Lucas Herrington (£4.0m) has impressed as an understudy and should step in without much disruption. Around him, there were more encouraging signs: Semi Ajayi (£4.2m) crashed a header against the bar, while John Egan (£4.1m) continued to deliver value for those hunting budget defensive returns.

Hull leave London with their unbeaten record intact, their reputation enhanced and their belief growing. Chelsea leave with the same questions echoing around their defence.

The next few weeks will tell us which of those patterns is here to stay.