LONDON, ENGLAND — Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has admitted he would happily settle for “boring” wins after his side’s defensive frailties were exposed once again in a frustrating 2-2 Premier League draw against Hull City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The Blues twice surrendered the lead against the newly promoted Tigers, extending their winless run to three matches and raising fresh questions about their ability to close out games. Chelsea have now conceded in each of their last five fixtures across all competitions, and Alonso made it clear that the pursuit of entertainment cannot come at the expense of results.
“I would take boring wins every day of the week,” Alonso said in his post-match press conference. “Right now, I don’t care about the style. I care about the three points. We are conceding goals that we should not be conceding, and it is costing us. We need to be more compact, more disciplined, and more ruthless in both boxes.”
Chelsea took the lead in the 18th minute through Cole Palmer, who latched onto a defence-splitting pass from Enzo Fernandez and slotted past the Hull goalkeeper. However, the visitors responded with remarkable resilience, equalising through Jaden Philogene in the 34th minute after a swift counter-attack caught the Chelsea defence flat-footed.
The Blues regained the lead on the hour mark when Nicolas Jackson pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area and fired home from close range. But their advantage lasted only nine minutes, as Hull’s Ozan Tufan rose unchallenged to head home a corner and level the scores once more. It was the third goal Chelsea have conceded from a set-piece this season, a statistic that Alonso described as “unacceptable.”
“The goals we are conceding are not about talent; they are about concentration and organisation,” Alonso said. “We work on these things every day in training, but we are not translating them into matches. We need to be more demanding of ourselves, from the front to the back. This is a collective responsibility.”
Hull manager Liam Rosenior praised his side’s character and tactical discipline, describing the draw as “a deserved point” that reflected their resilience and belief. “We came to Stamford Bridge with a plan, and the players executed it brilliantly. To come from behind twice against a team of Chelsea’s quality shows the spirit we have in this group,” Rosenior said.
The result leaves Chelsea in sixth place in the Premier League table with 10 points from their opening five matches, already five points behind leaders Arsenal. Hull, meanwhile, sit 14th with five points, a respectable return for a newly promoted side. For Alonso, the pressure is mounting. The Spaniard, who took charge in the summer following a successful spell with Bayer Leverkusen, has been tasked with restoring Chelsea to the top four and challenging for trophies. But defensive lapses, combined with a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal, have undermined their early-season ambitions.
Alonso insisted he remains confident in his squad and believes the performances will improve with time. “I have seen enough in this group to know that we can be successful,” he said. “But we need to be honest with ourselves. We are not at the level we need to be yet. We have to work harder, stay humble, and start turning these draws into wins. Whether they are boring or not doesn’t matter to me. Winning is what matters.“
