Mohamed Belloumi’s brace lifts Hull past Chelsea
Scored twice in six minutes as Hull City stunned Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and kept their unbeaten Premier League start alive. The 24-year-old winger’s…
STAMFORD BRIDGE — Mohamed Belloumi scored twice in six minutes as Hull City came from behind to stun Chelsea 2-1 and extend their unbeaten start to four Premier League matches. The result left Sergej Jakirovic’s side third in the table after a night that underlined how far Hull have come early in the season.
Chelsea led through Morgan Rogers after seven minutes, but Belloumi struck in the 28th and 34th minutes to flip the game before halftime. Hull then survived a long Chelsea push, with Emiliano Martínez making two big saves to deny the home side a comeback.
Belloumi changes the game fast
Belloumi’s double was the decisive spell. ESPN’s match data showed the Algerian winger first scored from open play with his left foot from 19 yards, then added another left-footed finish from 13 yards before the break. Those goals turned a match that had started with Chelsea on top into one Hull controlled in the key moments.
The Guardian reported that Hull had already dusted themselves down after conceding early and then went ahead through Belloumi’s “quickfire double.” It was the kind of response that forced Chelsea into a frantic chase and left Xabi Alonso looking for answers from a defense he described as “soft” without the ball.
“It’s all entertaining, but I hope that one day you say it was a boring game and we win,” Alonso said. “It will take time. When we get the lead you still need to be competing and not to give the chance so easily for them to come back.
“Especially in the first goal, we can do much better. It was too soft to give them hope because until then we were controlling, we were creating chances, but that changed the mood. We will get better, but it’s having an impact on our performances.”
What the result means for Hull
For Hull, this was more than a single upset. They are third in the Premier League after four games, a position few would have predicted at the start of the campaign. The club also stayed unbeaten, and the away end sang about winning the league in jest while the team kept pressing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The numbers tell their own story. ESPN listed Hull with 32% possession, yet they created the moments that mattered most. Chelsea finished with more of the ball and the louder reputation, but Hull’s sharper finishing and stubborn defending made the difference.
That matters for more than one table line. It changes the mood around the team, and it changes the pressure on opponents who now have to treat Hull as more than a brief early-season surprise. The visitors have already shown they can handle a Big Six test on the road.
Hull’s attack has also started to look dangerous beyond Belloumi. Yahoo Sports noted that the 24-year-old has two goals and an assist across Hull’s opening four Premier League games, while the club’s latest win came after a seven-year wait for another Hull player to score twice in a Premier League match. Oumar Niasse was the last to do it, in March 2017.
For Chelsea, the problem looked familiar. They have been exciting going forward, but they have also been conceding two goals per game, according to The Guardian. That leaves little margin when a visiting winger catches fire for six minutes and turns Stamford Bridge quiet.
Belloumi’s brace was the latest sign that Hull’s return to the top flight is not just about survival. It is about keeping pace near the top, and on this night they did it with two left-footed finishes that changed everything.
