Hull City Draw Against Chelsea: Jakirovic's Pride Shines Through
Hull City went to west London to be tested. They left having passed another one.
Ante Jakirovic could barely hide his pride after watching his newly promoted side scrap their way to a draw against one of the Premier League’s big hitters, a result that stretches their unbeaten return to the top flight and adds another layer to an already remarkable story.
They had to ride out an early punch. Morgan Rogers struck first, punishing Hull with a sharp finish that underlined the gulf in reputation between the teams, if not in attitude. Many sides fold there. Hull did the opposite.
The response was ruthless. Mohamed Belloumi pounced on a mistake from Jorrel Hato to level, reading the error quicker than anyone and turning it into a lifeline. Suddenly, the mood changed. The away end found its voice, and Hull started to believe.
Then came the twist. Belloumi again, his second arriving via a deflection off Levi Colwill. Fortune helped, but it was earned fortune, the product of a team brave enough to push numbers forward and ask questions. From a goal down to 2-1 up in west London – Hull were no longer clinging on, they were swinging.
Chelsea inevitably rallied. Cole Palmer began to find pockets of space, and the pressure grew. It finally told after the break when Palmer slipped in Joao Pedro for the equaliser, a move that showcased the home side’s quality and left Hull with a decision: retreat and survive, or keep playing their football.
They chose the latter, and that is what pleased Jakirovic most.
“I feel good. We have to be happy. It’s a huge result for us,” he told BBC Sport, the satisfaction clear. “We took a point in a very demanding match. Eight points against very difficult opponents. We have to continue like this.”
He is not exaggerating about the difficulty of the schedule. Hull’s return to the Premier League has been anything but gentle. They opened with a stunning 2-0 win over Manchester United, announced themselves with a gritty 1-0 victory against Coventry City, then dug out a goalless draw with Aston Villa. Now this point at Chelsea. Unbeaten. Unafraid.
The margins, though, still gnaw at Jakirovic. Hull had chances to make the night even more famous.
“We had 2-1 at half-time and we had a 100% chance with McBurnie but Martinez’s save was excellent,” he said, frustrated but respectful of the goalkeeping heroics that kept Chelsea alive. The theme continued.
“We had an excellent chance for Cho – Martinez saved again. Player of the match.”
Those missed opportunities fed into the manager’s other concern: control in the box. He knows that if Hull want to stay at the top end of the table, the chaos has to be managed, not merely endured.
“We have to control play better in the box because we can stop this [Chelsea goal],” he admitted. Even on a night of pride, the standards stayed high.
The only real cloud over the evening came with Nobel Mendy’s injury. The defender was forced off after a heavy collision, clearly in distress as he left the pitch. The tone around the game changed for a moment; the result suddenly felt secondary.
Jakirovic later confirmed the seriousness of the incident.
“He went to hospital for a scan. He’s dizzy and disorientated. We’ll see. It’s a concussion 100%.”
It was a sobering end to an otherwise exhilarating performance, and a reminder of the physical cost of Hull’s fearless approach.
Still, the story of their season so far is impossible to ignore. Back in the Premier League, unbeaten, already bloodied some of the division’s biggest names and showing no sign of backing down.
The question now is not whether Hull belong at this level. It’s how long they can keep rattling the established order.
