Hull draw leaves Chelsea facing 20-game clean-sheet drought

Chelsea drew 2-2 with Hull City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, extending their run without a Premier League clean sheet to 20 consecutive matches, the club’s longest such drought in 65 years.

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Belloumi strike seals grim milestone

Mohamed Belloumi’s 28th-minute equaliser was the moment that pushed Chelsea into unwanted history, extending the league clean-sheet drought to 20 straight matches. It’s now Chelsea’s worst such run in 65 years, and it comes with an equally damning detail attached: the Blues have shipped at least two goals in each of their opening four league games this season.

According to talkSPORT, this is genuinely rare territory for a club of Chelsea’s stature. The only clean sheet the Blues have managed all season came in the Carabao Cup, a 2-0 win over Luton Town, so the league drought remains fully intact. That defensive slide has been a running theme since the Arsenal defeat exposed the same fragility last weekend.

How it unfolded at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea actually started brilliantly. Morgan Rogers put them ahead inside seven minutes, and for a spell it looked like the perfect response to losing at Arsenal.

Then the old problems resurfaced. Jorrel Hato misjudged a bouncing ball in his own box and handed Belloumi the equaliser, and the same winger struck again moments later, his effort deflecting in off Levi Colwill to put Hull ahead. Chelsea’s makeshift back line wasn’t helped by the absences detailed in our pre-match injury update, with Colwill’s own fitness situation adding to the uncertainty at the back. Joao Pedro eventually salvaged a point, smashing home Cole Palmer’s setup after the break.

Alonso demands more

Chelsea have now conceded three times in two of their three home games in all competitions this season, and Xabi Alonso wasn’t hiding his frustration afterwards. He said the team were too soft for Hull’s equaliser and that playing well for 15 or 20 minutes simply isn’t enough over 90.

The Spaniard was clear Chelsea should have won the game given the chances they created, but admitted his side got roughly what they deserved on the balance of play.

In other news…

Chelsea’s defensive frailty has been building since the defeat at Arsenal last weekend, and injury issues aren’t helping matters either.

The absences that shaped team selection against Hull are covered in our injury update, while Colwill’s fitness situation remains one to watch closely.

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