Goals in either half from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa have handed Chelsea a 2-0 victory at home over 10-man Hull City this afternoon to maintain their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
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Chelsea burst out of the traps and took the lead in the eighth minute as Hazard arrived late to nod home Oscar's precise cross, although Hull were unhappy that play continued as Sone Aluko lay prone on the turf when the hosts went ahead.
No sooner had Hull fallen behind than they were forced into a defensive change, with Alex Bruce replacing the injured Michael Dawson.
The visitors saw very little of the ball, but did have a sight of goal midway through the first half. However, when the ball fell to Aluko on the edge of the box the forward blazed his strike over the bar.
After a dominant start, Chelsea began to grow frustrated with Hull's resilience and Willian entered the book for a dive before Gary Cahill was similarly handed a yellow card for a nasty challenge on Aluko which left the striker writhing in pain.
Hull seemed to take confidence from the way they ended the first half and almost restored parity seven minutes into the second half, but Jake Livermore's low shot flew narrowly wide of Petr Cech's post.
Cahill, who was booked in the first half, then escaped a second yellow card after seeming to dive in the penalty area before Bruce was booked for a strong challenge, which only served to increase Hull's frustration at the refereeing decisions.
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Shortly afterwards Costa entered the book for simulation, but in the 61st minute Tom Huddlestone made his side's task incredibly difficult after being shown a straight red card for raking his studs down the leg of Felipe Luis.
The red card brought the home crowd to life and they were on their feet claiming a penalty two minutes after Huddlestone's dismissal when the ball struck the hand of James Chester, but the referee allowed play to continue.
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They were soon on their feet again though as Costa made it 2-0 with a clinical finish from Hazard's through-ball to give the hosts some breathing space.
Didier Drogba almost put the game to bed within seconds of his introduction and although the veteran striker failed to connect with Willian's cross, the Blues held on as they returned to winning ways.
Kristian Johnson
