Tigers get the Blues

Chelsea bounced back from defeat to Liverpool to hand Hull City a reminder of how tough life can be in the Premier League.

Chelsea back on title trail after comfortable win at Hull

Chelsea bounced back from their weekend defeat to Liverpool to hand Hull City a reminder of how tough life can be in the Premier League. The Blues kept up the pressure on the Reds with a comfortable 3-0 win at the KC Stadium, handing the Tigers a reality check in the process. The writing was on the wall as early as three minutes when Frank Lampard chipped a delectable left-footed effort over a stranded Boaz Myhill in the home goal. City had their moments in the first period as they took the game to their illustrious visitors but any chance of a comeback was ended on 50 minutes by a dreadful mix-up in the home defence. Michael Turner and Kamil Zayatte, so impressive in recent weeks, switched off as they allowed a ball to bounce between them. Keeper Myhill came forward to gather but was caught in two minds as he reached the edge of the area and Nicolas Anelka nipped past him to turn the ball in. Florent Malouda, who had earlier wasted a hatful of opportunities, killed the game off 15 minutes from time, tapping in from close range to complete a miserable night for the home side Chelsea, lifted by the return of Joe Cole, were soon into their stride as Lampard gave them an early lead with a delicate chip which oozed class. The England midfielder displayed perfect technique to clip over the stranded Myhill after Paul McShane had dispossessed Florent Malouda but failed to clear. It was his 99th career league goal and lifted the Blues after the shock of the Liverpool loss. Hull, after conceding for the first time in four games, tried to respond through Geovanni but the Brazilian was denied a free-kick after running into Ricardo Carvalho. Lampard tried his luck again with a shot from a free-kick 30 yards out but could not find the target.

Deflection

The hosts were inches away from an equaliser after 22 minutes as Daniel Cousin's low shot from 20 yards took a slight deflection and beat Cech, only to bounce back off the post. Geovanni also tested Cech with a long-range free-kick but the Chelsea goalkeeper beat the ball away after it bounced awkwardly in front of him. Hull were then forced to sit back for a spell and survived a scare as Malouda found room to shoot but fired over. Anelka went even closer with a ferocious drive just before the break but Myhill did brilliantly to tip over. Cech was also in action again, keeping out another Geovanni free-kick and a King header. Chelsea doubled their lead in the 50th minute as Anelka capitalised on uncertainty in the home defence. Turner and Zayatte switched off as they allowed a ball to bounce between them. Myhill came forward to gather but Anelka nipped past him to turn the ball in. Malouda should have added a third moments later but blasted over. The Frenchman, however, made up for his earlier misses as he reacted first to stab home a Carvalho cross from close range after 75 minutes. There was no way back for Hull but Brown gave the home fans something to cheer when he introduced local hero Dean Windass late on. Another Hull substitute, Richard Garcia, headed a late chance wide from a corner but there was to be no consolation. Nevertheless, the Tigers have still enjoyed a fine introduction to the top flight. Their initiation will continue on Saturday when they travel to Manchester United.

Hull City	Team Statistics	Chelsea
0	Goals	3
0	1st Half Goals	1
4	Shots on Target	6
5	Shots off Target	15
2	Blocked Shots	6
5	Corners	5
13	Fouls	15
2	Offsides	1
0	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
71.2	Passing Success	83.8
13	Tackles	15
76.9	Tackles Success	86.7
42.1	Possession	57.9
48.3	Territorial Advantage	51.7