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Chelsea logo
Premier League
Aug 18, 2013 at 4pm UK
 
Hull logo

2-0

Oscar (13'), Lampard (25')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Live Commentary: Chelsea 2-0 Hull City - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's coverage of Chelsea's 2-0 win over Hull City in the Premier League.
2

Jose Mourinho got his new reign as Chelsea manager off to a winning start on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Hull City in the Premier League.

Oscar and Frank Lampard scored the goals at Stamford Bridge as the Blues secured the three points in style.

Meanwhile, Hull will take some positives from a spirited second-half display, but the damage was done during the opening 45 minutes.

Read Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report below to find out how the action unfolded.


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Hello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League encounter between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge.

Not sure if you heard, but some guy called Jose Mourinho is back at Stamford Bridge today. Apparently the Chelsea fans are quite keen on him.

In all seriousness, it's a huge day for Chelsea as the 'Special One' returns to the Bridge for the first time since his acrimonious departure in 2007. All eyes will be on the Portuguese today as his side plays host to newly-promoted Hull.

What is there to say about Mourinho that hasn't already been said? The man is success personified, and all Chelsea fans will be expecting him to win a clutter of trophies in what is his second spell in charge of the club. He brought two Premier League titles, two League Cups and the FA Cup during his first stint from 2004 to 2007.

Mourinho returns to Chelsea having managed Inter Milan and Real Madrid - two clubs where he continued to excel, winning three league titles and a host of cups a combined five-year period.

Looks live we've got some team news coming in...

CHELSEA: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Ramires; Lampard, De Bruyne, Oscar, Hazard; Torres

HULL: McGregor; Figueroa, Elmohamady, Chester, Davies; Meyler, Koren, Brady, Aluko, Sagbo; Graham

An interesting starting XI from Mourinho as David Luiz misses out, while Kevin De Bruyne starts in midfield. Meanwhile, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Fernando Torres are all given the nod.

Meanwhile, three of Hull's summer signings start in the form of Allan McGregor, Maynor Figueroa and Ahmed Elmohamady.

CHELSEA SUBS: Schwarzer, Essien, Van Ginkel, Schurrle, Mata, Ba, Lukaku

HULL SUBS: Harper, Rosenior, Bruce, Huddlestone, Livermore, McShane, Boyd

Just look at that Chelsea bench. What a wealth of talent Mourinho has at his disposal this season. It's unlikely that Chelsea will find themselves in trouble today, but they can call on Andre Schurrle, Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku if they are.

UPDATE: Today's first Premier League fixture has just ended at Selhurst Park and Tottenham Hotspur have a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace thanks to Roberto Soldado's penalty. You can read our match report hot off the (digital) press here.

So, what should we expect of Hull City this season? Steve Bruce's side were strong in the Championship last season as they finished in second place, but a late run of bad results almost saw them lose out on automatic promotion. They have since strengthened extensively over the summer, bringing in a total of eight players for the campaign ahead. It is sure to be a tough old slog for the Tigers, though they have an experienced manager at the helm who is certain not to panic if things start going wrong.

If you fancy dragging yourself away from this fabulous live commentary for a moment, you can check out our season preview for Hull here.

There haven't been too many meetings between these sides down the years, but the bad news for Hull is that they have never won at Stamford Bridge. Their last trip here was on the opening day of the 2009-10 season when they lost 2-1. However, the return fixture at the KC Stadium saw the Tigers earn a credible 1-1 draw.

In total, Chelsea have won 22 out of their 33 encounters, while Hull have won four with seven draws.

Interestingly enough, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has communicated with the club's fans for the first time today in the form of a brief message in the match programme. The Russian billionaire says: "We have had a great decade together and the club could not have achieved it all without you. Thanks for your support, here's to many more years of success."

Amusing tweet from journalist Oliver Kay of The Times:

Around 10 minutes until this one gets underway and Stamford Bridge is buzzing.

Right, it's prediction time. Anything other than a Chelsea win seems inconceivable this afternoon. Many people will be expecting the Blues to run riot against Hull, but any newly-promoted side is something of an unknown quantity in the Premier League. However, Chelsea should get the points.

The players get a good reception when they emerge from the tunnel, but it's nothing compared to the one given to Mourinho when he makes his way to the dugout. Stamford Bridge erupts.

Here we go then, it'll be Chelsea to get this one started...

As you'd expect, it's the hosts who are dominating the opening stages. A first opportunity of the afternoon falls to De Bruyne, but the youngster fires over from 20 yards.

PENALTY FOR CHELSEA! The home side are give a spot kick by the referee as McGregor bundles into the back of Torres.

PENALTY SAVED! A dramatic opening start at Stamford Bridge sees Lampard's penalty saved by debutant McGregor. The Hull goalkeeper made a silly error in giving it away in the first place, but he makes amends by diving to his left to palm away Lampard's effort.

Hull are under lots of pressure at the moment. Hazard has his shot blocked inside a crowded area before the Belgian handles the rebound to give away a free kick.

CHANCE! Hazard is in the thick of the action again as he scuffs his shot from De Bruyne's cross. A cleaner connection there and Chelsea could be ahead. Big credit to De Bruyne there as well, showing some neat skill to create space on the right.

Hull make a rare venture forward through Elmohamady, but the right-back's cross is way too deep and goes out for a throw. The visitors are looking nervy at the moment.

GOAL! CHELSEA 1-0 HULL (OSCAR)

Chelsea lead and it's Oscar with the goal! The Brazilian was picked out by De Bruyne's incisive pass before prodding the ball past McGregor from close range. The Hull defence was non-existent there.

SAVE! Nearly two goals in two minutes for Chelsea as Lampard has a crack from the edge of the box, but McGregor does well to push it away. This could be a long afternoon for the Tigers...

The Chelsea players look to be enjoying themselves a lot out there right now. They're all getting involved in the final third, while Hull remained penned into their own half.

Two corners in quick succession for the hosts, but neither come to anything. It has to be said that some of the passing moves from Chelsea are a joy to watch. It's a glorious mix of incision and flair.

WIDE! De Bruyne, who has looked full of confidence so far, lashes a shot off target from around 25 yards. The youngster obviously isn't afraid to have a go.

GOAL! CHELSEA 2-0 HULL (LAMPARD)

He was denied from the penalty spot earlier, but there's no denying Lampard now as he smashes in an unstoppable free kick from 30 yards. The midfielder hits the ball sweet and true, and it's dips into the top corner to give McGregor no chance.

Chelsea go on the attack again as Torres receives the ball on the edge of the area, but Hull are alert to the danger and dispossess the Spaniard. The home side are all over the visitors like a cheap suit.

What must Steve Bruce be thinking now? He knew that today was going to be a huge challenge for his side, though I'm not sure he was expecting them to put in such a toothless display with 30 minutes on the clock.

A few groans of exasperation from Chelsea fans as De Bruyne whacks a cross out for a throw. Meanwhile, Hull get a free kick in a dangerous position at the other end...

Not quite the same effect as Lampard's earlier as Brady fires the ball straight into the wall. That was a good opportunity for Hull to cut the deficit.

Torres has the Hull defence worried as he chases down Ivanovic's header, but McGregor is quick off his line to claim the ball. Chelsea have had 57% of the possession so far, with 12 shots compared to Hull's one.

The away side finally enjoy some of the ball in the final third as a couple of crosses test the Chelsea defence. However, the home side stand firm and deal with the danger. This is definitely Hull's best spell of the match so far.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this half...

SAVE! McGregor comes to Hull's rescue as he parries away Lampard's shot after the midfielder had made a crafty run into the box.

CHANCE! McGregor makes another fine save as he pushes Ivanovic's header away from a corner. Hull living very dangerously.

HALF TIME: CHELSEA 2-0 HULL

A great first half for Chelsea comes to an end, and they go in at the break with a 2-0 lead against Hull. While the home side have enjoyed themselves on Jose Mourinho's return, the visitors must be glad that play has been stopped for 15 minutes.

Despite seeing Frank Lampard's early penalty saved by Allan McGregor, Chelsea have looked very threatening. Oscar opened the scoring with his neat finish from close range before Frank Lampard doubled their advantage thanks to a superb free kick.

A number of Chelsea players were fantastic during that first half, but one standout name is Eden Hazard. The Belgian was just too slippery for Hull, popping up all over the place and constantly causing problems.

I'm not sure what Jose Mourinho can say to his players to help them improve on their showing in the opening 45 minutes. They were in total control thanks to some glorious football. In contrast, Hull have a lot of work to do.

Right, they players are back out and it will be Hull to start this second half. No changes for either side at the break.

It's been more of the same for Chelsea during the first few minutes of the second half - plenty of the ball and plenty of energy, while Hull struggle to impose themselves.

Cheers from the Chelsea fans as Demba Ba, Romelu Lukaku and Michael Essien warm up on the touchline. Will we see one of them soon?

A half chance for Chelsea, with Oscar running at the Hull defence. The Brazilian exchanges passes with Lampard before being shut out by the visitors.

De Bruyne has another attempt at goal, but it sails over the bar much like his others. Chelsea are in the hunt for a third goal following a quiet opening to the half.

Oscar is the latest Chelsea player to try his luck with a low drive that goes wide of the post.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Hull make a double change as new signings Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore replace David Meyler and Danny Graham. As expected, their Tottenham Hotspur roots mean that they get plenty of boos from the Chelsea fans.

Hull get a half chances through Koren when the midfielder's long-range strike is fumbled by Cech, but no one is in there following up. The Chelsea goalkeeper has had the easiest of afternoons so far.

SUBSTITUTION: Chelsea make their first change now as £18m summer signing Andre Schurrle comes on for Kevin De Bruyne.

Hull are suddenly enjoying their best spell of the match. They have a penalty appeal for handball rightly turned away after Lampard blocks a shot in the area, while Huddlestone sees his effort hacked away by Terry.

The substitutions have definitely made a difference for Hull. Both Huddlestone and Livermore have given the visitors a more dynamic, composed look.

SAVE! Nearly a goal for Hull! Elmohamady whips in a delightful cross that Davies meets with his head, but Cech is there to hold onto the ball.

SUBSTITUTION: Another change for Chelsea here as Romelu Lukaku replaces Fernando Torres. Lukaku is back at Stamford Bridge following a successful loan spell with West Bromwich Albion. Can he stamp his mark on the Blues this term?

CHANCE! Lukaku is involved instantly as Schurrle is put through on goal, but his attempted lob over the onrushing McGregor goes wide.

SUBSTITUTION: Hull's final change of the day sees George Boyd come on for Sone Aluko.

CHANCE! Lampard lines up another free kick from around the same distance as the one he scored from earlier, but this time the ball flashes past McGregor's post. Still, it was a sweet strike.

That's really poor from Huddlestone. The midfielder has the chance to whip in a free kick from a good position on the right, though he can only hit it against the wall.

SUBSTITUTION: Now it's Chelsea's turn to make their final change, with Marco van Ginkel replacing Oscar.

There was a spell not too long ago where Hull looked like they might have got themselves back into the match with a goal, but their late charge appears to have spluttered out as Chelsea run down the remaining few minutes.

There will be two minutes of added time...

FULL TIME: CHELSEA 2-0 HULL

So, the new Jose Mourinho era at Chelsea starts with a fairly comfortable 2-0 win over Hull City. The Blues were dominant during the first half and were rewarded with goals from Oscar and Frank Lampard. Hull made a fist of it in the second half, but it wasn't enough to stop them tasting defeat on the opening weekend.

Anyway, that's all from me for now. Thank you very much for your company, we hope that you enjoyed the coverage here on Sports Mole and we hope to see you soon.

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