KINGSTON UPON HULL, England -- Three quick thoughts from Chelsea's 2-0 Premier League win over Hull City at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday.
1. Chelsea steady the ship in Hull
Such is the way of things, whenever a big team loses a couple of games then reaction will inevitably be strong. After Chelsea were defeated by Liverpool and then Arsenal, doom was foretold, but losses to those two does not an apocalyptic situation make.
Defeat at Hull City might have been a little closer to that, a genuine sign that a team might be in trouble, but Chelsea avoided that with a comfortable 2-0 victory on Humberside, calming the waters a little for Antonio Conte and his side.
This wasn't an exceptional showing, but they secured the three points with two moments of brilliance. Diego Costa continued his exceptional start to the season with his sixth goal in seven league starts, while last season's star man Willian showed a little of that excellence with a sensational second-half strike to break Hull's resistance and Chelsea's tension.
The day began with a change in approach and formation for Chelsea. Conte had worked with a back three in training this week, an attempt to shore up their surprisingly fragile defence with a formation familiar to him, if not many of his players. Looking at the team sheet before the game, it didn't look especially likely, but indeed they did line up with a defensive trio, Cesar Azpilicueta slotting in as a third centre-half with David Luiz and Gary Cahill, while Victor Moses acted as right wing-back and Marcos Alonso made his first league start on the other flank.
Chelsea were undoubtedly the dominant team from the off, even if Hull managed to chisel out a couple of presentable chances in the early stages. However, the visitors struggled to break through a stubborn Hull defence, their approach play often stilted and slow. They went in at the break frustrated, unable to make good on their supremacy, looking exactly like a team getting used to working with a new formation. Which, really, is not exactly a huge surprise.
However, after the break the dam broke. N'Golo Kante missed a glorious chance to give them the lead at around the hour mark, blazing over after Costa had hit the post, but they pierced Hull's resistance shortly afterward. After a neat move, Willian collected the ball on the left side of the area, casually opened his body and stroked the ball high into the net. If it's possible to thread a shot into the top corner, the Brazilian did it.