Hull 2-0

Independent:
Chelsea 2 Hull City 0

Diego Costa scores first in five after Tom Huddlestone was sent off in ill-tempered affair at Stamford Bridge

Miguel Delaney

Chelsea have it easy even before Huddlestone is sent off for Hull but Bruce is furious Cahill did not see red as well

Chelsea did not need to be particularly good, in what was arguably their most laboured performance of the season. The only fight Steve Bruce’s side showed was when Tom Huddlestone justifiably got a straight red card for a poor high challenge on Felipe Luis.

The only point of controversy, meanwhile, was that Gary Cahill might have followed him. Chelsea’s centre-half escaped a booking for a dive in the box in the second half. Mourinho disputed it was a dive, but Bruce said Cahill should have gone. “It was like something out of Swan Lake,” the Hull manager jibed. “That blatant.”

That was also pretty much as obstructive as anyone from Hull got. Beyond that, they were almost the perfect opponents for a side looking to get back to winning form, as they basically rolled over. The deeper worry for Bruce, however, is they now look in danger of rolling out of the division too.

Hull find themselves 19th in the table, and a world away from the comfort of just a few weeks ago. They did not look like a side who spent so much on transfers in the summer, but did look like one that have only scored twice in their last eight games.

Bruce said so much when, as Didier Drogba warmed up on the touchline, the Hull manager turned to the Chelsea striker and asked, in mock horror, if he was coming on

By that point, the final score was pretty much assured, but then that seemed obvious from the start. It took just seven minutes for Chelsea to open the scoring, in what was probably the finest-quality moment of the entire match. Oscar curled over a gorgeously flighted cross, which Hazard easily nodded in, in what was a rare headed goal for the winger.

“That he scored in the air, I was surprised,” Mourinho said of Hazard. “He jumps a lot but normally he closes his eyes. So I was surprised, but very good goal.”

Costa later got his first goal in five games, sliding Hazard’s pass past Allan McGregor after 68 minutes. That came just eight minutes after Huddlestone had been sent off for his high challenge on Luis, which Bruce felt was totally fair.

But the Hull manager insisted it should have been 10 against 10 due to Cahill’s dive, with the defender having been booked in the first half. “The referee was 10 yards away,” Bruce said. “Everybody in the ground saw it. The frustration was we feel aggrieved as a team because it’s gone against us.”

“I’ve just been asked if Cahill should have gone, and the simple answer is yes. Especially given the referee has already booked two people for simulation or diving. Oscar, Hazard or Willian are running at pace, so the smallest connection can bring them over.

“This is England’s centre-half. It could have been a red card, his first challenge on [Sone] Aluko. That was reckless and dangerous. You expect the referee to do his job. Consequently, Tom Huddlestone, who is the most laidback person, is frustrated with the decisions and produced a horror challenge which deserves a red card. But when you come to places like this, you need them to make the right call.”

Despite such comments, Bruce still did not get to say what he really felt. “If I say what I want to say then I’ll be hauled up in front of the Premier League [FA] and I’ll have to pay the £10,000 fine. So I’ll say piss all about it and save my pocket. Excuse my French.”

Mourinho disagreed. “I don’t make it because I didn’t see it on television because I was very far away. But I had this question before from your colleagues on television and radio. I don’t believe Cahill dived. And if you tell me I’m wrong because he did, then something happened. Or they blocked his run. Or they touched. Or he lost balance. But that big, honest guy, I don’t believe he dived in the opposition’s box.”

Bruce may have been fuming at that point, but there was an air of resignation towards the end of the game as he chatted idly with Mourinho on the sideline.

“With some, I cannot say goodbye five seconds before the end of the game,” Mourinho said. “With others I can speak through the whole game. Two old foxes, no pressure. Just enjoying. No problem.”

At least not for Chelsea. Hull’s problems, however, are mounting.


Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Luis; Matic, Mikel (Ramires, 81); Willian (Schürrle , 79), Oscar (Drogba, 78), Hazard; Costa

Hull City (3-5-2): McGregor; Chester, Davies, Dawson (Bruce, 10); Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Meyler, Robertson; Aluko (Brady, 64), Jelavic (Ramirez, 73)

Referee: Chris Foy

Man of the match: Hazard (Chelsea)

Match rating: 5/10


================


Observer:

Chelsea 2 - 0 Hull

Diego Costa back on target as Chelsea grind out win over 10-man Hull

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge


This was an ugly win rather prised from stubborn and awkward opponents but, in the end, Chelsea will be unconcerned as to how it was chiselled out. Their three-point advantage at the top of the Premier League is retained, a pristine home record extended and they may actually take heart from the reality that rivals can these days be ground into submission when they cannot be passed off the park.

It still felt comfortable enough, secured by an early headed goal from the lively Eden Hazard and a welcome reward after the interval for Diego Costa. The Brazilian-born forward had been relatively blunt of late, struggling with his match sharpness after those hamstring and groin complaints, but he tucked away a neat finish to settle the result. Yet the rest was more of a slog, an occasion illuminated more by Branislav Ivanovic’s muscular running beyond Hull City defenders down the right than flashes of neat invention from the attacking players who have propelled this team to date.

José Mourinho said: “We didn’t play especially well, but we played well enough for everybody connected with Chelsea – supporters, players, staff – to be calm because the game was always under control. We never felt really at risk. We have already put in many special performances this season, and today we just had moments of good football, moments of happiness and creativity and dynamism. Just moments. Not for 90 minutes. A good enough performance to win against a difficult team, which is important to say.”

The Portuguese went on to suggest some of his players may have spied the fixture congestion ahead and opted to rest up once victory here felt assured. “If they did, they are smart,” he offered although, while the manager was loath to admit it, the suspended Cesc Fàbregas had still been missed. Chelsea’s tempo was rarely as upbeat as normal without the Spaniard conducting play from the middle even once Hull had been reduced to 10 by Tom Huddlestone’s dismissal for an ugly challenge on Filipe Luís.

Steve Bruce argued, quite plausibly, that lunge had been born of frustration that the hosts had not been reduced to 10 after Gary Cahill, already cautioned, appeared to dive between David Meyler and Huddlestone in search of a penalty. Chris Foy would book Willian and Costa for “simulation” over the course of the contest, but Cahill escaped to leave the visitors riled.

The Hull manager was just as perplexed as to why Mikel John Obi was not penalised for a foul on Sone Aluko in the build-up to Hazard’s opening goal. “We thought it was a free-kick, but if I say what I want to say then I’ll be hauled up in front of the Football Association again and I’ll have to pay the £10,000 fine,” said Bruce, who had suffered that indignity last season. “So I’ll say piss all about it and save my pocket. Excuse my French.”

His current Français, Hatem Ben Arfa, might have been useful here had he been fit and available, though his days at Hull appear numbered with the player secured from Newcastle in Paris and apparently hoping his contract is terminated next month.

Hull lacked the creation or conviction to damage the league leaders – they have now gone nine games without a win – even if their industry was admirable. Bruce wrote it off as “the story of our season”. The loss of Michael Dawson to a hamstring injury, most likely for up to six weeks, will be damaging.

They were pierced twice amid the huff and puff, Hazard soaring between Curtis Davies and Andrew Robertson to connect with Oscar’s cross while Aluko writhed on the turf in the centre circle following Mikel’s challenge. Hazard had previously scored only once in England with his head, against West Bromwich Albion in November 2012, and was elusive throughout following a midweek rest. Mourinho said: “I gave him four days’ holiday with his family to go somewhere he can take his shirt [off] and get some sun. He came back with happiness in his legs.”

Costa, too, needed his reward after relatively stodgy recent form. He meandered on to Hazard’s slipped pass to score beyond Allan McGregor with Hull depleted in number and, by then, effectively defeated.



==================


Telegraph:

Chelsea 2 Hull City 0

Eden Hazard and Diego Costa score as Steve Bruce's side bow to inevitable


By Jonathan Liew, Stamford Bridge


Jose Mourinho's side retain their grip on the top of the Premier League thanks to strikes from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa


You are Steve Bruce. Your Hull City side has won once since August. You are 2-0 down against the Premier League leaders, every big decision has gone against you, and the 10 players remaining on the pitch have failed to muster a single shot on target. With 12 minutes to go, you turn round to see an opposition substitute ready to come on. It is Didier Drogba.

Well, you might well react exactly as Bruce did in that moment. “Oh no, not you as well,” he groaned, his eyes shooting to the heavens in exasperation. Jose Mourinho giggled, and the pair spent most of the rest of the game chatting with genuine warmth.

“With some, I cannot say goodbye five seconds before the end,” Mourinho said later, a sly reference to Roy Keane. “With others, I can speak through the whole game. Two old foxes, no pressure. Just enjoying.”

It was a moment of genuine levity that also summed up Hull’s afternoon perfectly: an afternoon of grim resignation, an afternoon of ceding to the inevitable. If you wanted a measure of Chelsea's surgical excellence this season, then there it was: a game that was effectively over after a little more than six minutes.

Which is pretty strange, when you think about it. How did Chelsea get this good? Not good in the sense of playing inspiring, exciting football, but in the sense of killing off the game’s competitive element. How do they manage to snuff teams out this quickly? How can a match with 83 minutes still to play nevertheless be so devoid of life?

Perhaps things might have been different had referee Chris Foy decided to send Chelsea’s Gary Cahill off early in the second half. Bizarrely, he did not, and instead it was Hull who were reduced in number, as Tom Huddlestone spent the last half-hour in the dressing room for a lazy, reckless challenge on Filipe Luis. With his dismissal, any remaining doubt over the outcome was extinguished.

Those who continued to pay attention were rewarded for their perseverance late on, as Chelsea woke from their mid-game slumber and finally began to play like champions-in-waiting. What with their defeat to Newcastle last weekend, and Manchester City’s continuing improvement, the title race may well be more competitive than many had predicted.

Equally, though, it will not be decided by non-contests like this. Bruce spent most of the first half pacing up and down the touchline, frantically waving his arms, screaming at every Hull player who could hear him, and quite a few who could not. He would probably have been better off pulling up a comfortable chair and sitting quietly in it. It would have saved him a lot of energy.

And in truth, if this game lacked a certain spectacle, then Hull were at least as culpable as Chelsea. They have still only won once in the league since August. Their midfield and attack often appear to be at cross-purposes. They have lost the defensive solidity that served them so well last season. Hatem Ben Arfa, according to reports in France, has flown to Paris in a sulk and will not play for the club again. They are, in short, in a bit of a mess.

Chelsea, meanwhile, continue to pass every test posed of them. Without injured goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and suspended midfielder Cesc Fabregas, they perhaps lacked a little flair, but still looked largely untroubled. Eden Hazard was very good, benefiting from being given a few days off during the week.

“We made an agreement,” Mourinho said. “He didn’t play against Sporting. I gave him four days’ holiday. He went with his family to a weather where he can take his shirt off and get some sun. He came back with that happiness in his legs.”

It was Hazard who opened the scoring after six minutes with, of all things, a header. Oscar’s cross, a curling effort from the left wing, dripped with menace. Hazard got ahead of Andrew Robertson and headed it in at the back post, although Hull remonstrated angrily with Foy for failing to spot John Obi Mikel’s foul on Sone Aluko in the build-up.

After just 10 minutes, then, the game was as dead as dubstep. To make matters worse for Hull, Michael Dawson was also injured early on. And that was pretty much it for the first half.

Nine minutes into the second, Cahill burst into the penalty area, went down under minimal contact, and got to his feet fearing the worst. He had already been booked in the first half for a challenge on Aluko, but Foy feebly pointed for a goal kick.

Minutes later, Huddlestone went in studs-up on Luis, and Hull’s race was run. But there was still time for the game’s only move of real quality. Hazard’s slalom took two Hull defenders out of the game; Branislav Ivanovic played it back into his path with a delightful flick; Hazard slipped it to Diego Costa; Costa finished first time, low from a tight angle. It was just about worth the wait.

By this stage, Bruce’s arms were back down by his sides. He had stopped shouting. As he turned round and saw Drogba stripped and ready, all he could do was laugh. Finally, he had acceded to his fate. And the way Chelsea are playing this season, he will probably not be the last to do so.



====================


Times:

Chelsea 2 Hull City 0

Diego Costa provides soothing balm for Chelsea in absence of Cesc Fàbregas

Alyson Rudd


He had not scored for four games but Diego Costa provided a touch of class just as this contest threatened to become too packed with fouls, dives and antagonism to allow Chelsea to seal the three points they needed to maintain their slim advantage at the top of the table.

They had taken an early lead through Eden Hazard but the game then became a ponderous affair which shifted, in the second half, into one bristling with indignation and a red card for Tom Huddlestone.

Chelsea might have won but they certainly missed Cesc Fàbregas. Filipe Luis tried to flick the ball through a packed penalty area in the manner of the suspended Spaniard but such skill is not quite as simple as it might appear and possession was wasted. It was an incident that highlighted how much Chelsea have come to rely on the former Arsenal player, however.

There were too few moments of any real beauty from the home side although one came in the seventh minute when Oscar delivered an effortless cross, the sort that seems to take its time to seek out its intended target which was in this instance Hazard and the Belgian headed the ball past Allan McGregor with ease.

Steve Bruce had said he could not unearth any weaknesses among the Chelsea team and his expectations only became more diluted when Michael Dawson limped off in the tenth minute to be replaced by Alex Bruce. It was not a three-minute period to fill the Hull manager with much cheer but at least his team regained composure quickly and made the remainder of the first half stodgy for the home side.

Hull, in any case, had their chances. A mistake in possession from Nemanja Matic led to a opening for Sone Aluko which he too eagerly lifted over the bar. Petr Cech came for a ball floated in by Huddlestone but failed to claim it. Hull could not profit but it underlined why Thibaut Courtois, who missed this game due to a minor injury, is first-choice goalkeeper for Chelsea.

Huddlestone meanwhile wasted a free kick early in the second half and Jake Livermore’s unintentionally gentle strike almost deceived Cech.

As Aluko received treatment for a collision with Gary Cahill, Steve Bruce and Jose Mourinho had a friendly natter. It was that sort of game until tempers on the pitch began to flare.

It started when the Hull players demanded that Chris Foy, the referee, show a second yellow card to Cahill for diving in the penalty area. The defender was given the benefit of the doubt but certainly, in his efforts to find a path through David Meyler and Huddlestone, he rather overdid the flounce element of his fall. Costa was, though, booked for diving on the edge of the area as he evaded contact with Huddlestone. It had become something of a theme of the game with Willian cautioned for a dive in the fist half.

Huddlestone, who was at the heart of most incidents, was shown a straight red for stamping on the knee of Felipe Luis. An hour had gone at this point and Steve Bruce might have begun to wonder if he might force an equaliser.

The crowd bayed for a penalty when the ball hit the arm of James Chester but the defender was falling over and had no way of knowing where the ball was and Foy let play continue.

Ivanovic was close to his marauding best, adding a dash of flair to his strength and pace and he helped to set up Chelsea’s second goal with Hazard then feeding Costa for a subtle and deadly finish.

As Didier Drogba waited to come on to replace Oscar, Steve Bruce almost laughed at the prospect. His team were down to ten men and really, anyone Mourinho had chosen to come off the bench would have caused the Hull manager to feel dispirited. With Hull now second from bottom after Burnley’s win over Southampton, he is in a full-blown relegation battle.



==================


Mail:

Chelsea 2-0 Hull: Eden Hazard strikes early and sets up Diego Costa as Petr Cech's goal isn't threatened once by 10-man Tigers


By Riath Al-samarrai for The Mail on Sunday



If this is what a dry spell looks like then Jose Mourinho can probably rest easy, but he should not get too comfortable. There will be harder days ahead, especially if his side produce many more performances like this one.

Not that it was dreadful. How could it be when they won 2-0 and did not face a single shot on goal?

But that’s not to say it was impressive. They led through Eden Hazard inside six minutes and after 10 minutes Hull had lost Michael Dawson to injury.

It was not until the 67th minute, when Diego Costa scored their second goal after Tom Huddlestone was shown a red card for a dreadful tackle, that they looked comfortable.

Even then there was a lingering ‘what if’, one that was posed so passionately by Steve Bruce when he weighed up Chris Foy’s odd decision not to book Gary Cahill for diving in the second half. Having already been shown a yellow card in the opening period, the England centre-half was extremely lucky not to be dismissed for his tumble when it was still 11 v 11 and 1-0 to Chelsea.

But a win is a win, as they say. Mourinho certainly wasn’t trumpeting it as anything else, saying: ‘I have to agree - we have had many special performances this season and in this we just had moments. Not for 90 minutes.’

This was the sort of day where Mourinho had only pragmatic thoughts. When asked why he was snubbed for the manager of the month award, he said: ‘I promise you that what I tell you is true - I don't care. But there is something that is not right because, in four years in the Premier League, I've won the manager of the month twice. So, for sure, they don't like me. But I don't care. I just want my team to win.’

That much they achieved, sweeping away in the process some of the doubting looks that came their way after the club’s recent struggles in the north-east, either side of a win against Tottenham. Not that four points from three games ought to constitute a crisis when set against Hull’s run of nine games without a win.

But there are worries for Mourinho, namely what happens when Cesc Fabregas is not available. His ban for this game was somewhat offset by the return of Nemanja Matic, a wonderfully significant cog in this machine.

But John Obi Mikel made up the numbers next to Matic in front of the defence and the combination simply is not as creative or fluent as when Matic and Fabregas play together. The tempo is evidently not the same when they are separated.

Perhaps that is why Diego Costa was often so subdued when this was still a match between equal numbers. He had not scored in his previous four appearances and barely made a dent on Hull’s defence in the first half. Often, the supply line just was not functioning.

With due credit to Hull, they steadied themselves well after a dreadful start littered with misfortune.

They were behind after only six minutes and had good cause to appeal for a foul in the build-up to Hazard’s headed opener. Mikel had won possession in the middle of the pitch, but replays showed he took more than a bit of Sone Aluko’s foot in the process. No whistle came, Matic spread the play to Oscar on the left and his excellent cross found Hazard. His header meant eight goals this season for a man closing in on a £200,000 a week contract.

Mourinho said: ‘He didn't play against Sporting Lisbon in midweek. I gave him four days holiday. He went with his family to a weather where he can take his shirt (off) and get some sun. Then, in return, he said he'd come back fresh. He came back with that happiness in his legs.’

Dawson then left the pitch after injuring his hamstring and what was already a tough fixture looked far harder. Somehow, the walloping never happened; Hazard’s goal was the only shot on target in the half.

The second half was fairly even until the second of two refereeing incidents. First, Cahill escaped a booking for diving after a David Meyler challenge – he had already been booked for a bad foul on Sone Aluko - and then Tom Huddlestone was sent off for an awful tackle on Filipe Luis after an hour.

Within seven minutes Chelsea were two up. Hazard did much of the work, exchanging passes with Branislav Ivanovic before threading a pass to Costa whose slow roll across and past Allan McGregor was perfect.

It was a rare moment of class on a scrappy day.



==================


Mirror:

Chelsea 2-0 Hull

Diego Costa and Eden Hazard dispatch 10-men Tigers

Darren Lewis


Hull have Tom Huddlestone sent off to wrap up a miserable afternoon at Stamford Bridge; one that wasn't high on quality

Deadly Diego Costa ended his mini-scoring drought and shot Chelsea back to winning ways against ten-man Hull.

The Spain striker struck in the 68th minute - his first goal in five games - to cap a wonderful move involving Branislav Ivanoic and Eden Hazard.

Hazard himself had opened the scoring with a classic far-post header from Oscar's cross after just seven minutes of this contest.

The goals keep Chelsea three points clear of Manchester City heading into the congested Christmas period.

Midway through the second half, however, Chelsea took their foot off the gas and Hull took advantage of their complacency.

Sone Aluko blasted over the bar from the left side of the Blues' box and David Meyler was booked for using his hand instead of his head to reach a 25th-minute corner.

The big problem for Steve Bruce's men, however, is that confidence is low within their ranks. Unsurprisingly so given that, since they beat Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final, the Tigers have won just two league games in 20.

So when Jake Livermore was given another sight of goal five minutes after the break he shot wide instead of testing Petr Cech, in for the sidelined Thibault Courtois.

The game reached boiling point in the second half when Gary Cahill escaped a second yellow for diving.

Hull substitute Alex Bruce received a similar let-off for his challenge on Willian. And Diego Costa was cautioned for diving on the edge of the Tigers' box.

By the time Huddlestone was ordered off tensions were running extremely high. They continued to do so as referee Chris Foy - and his assistant - missed James Chester's handball from WIllian's cross which Oscar missed.

Costa finally ended the match as a contest when he turned home from Hazard's reverse pass.

Chelsea remain in pole position. Bit bigger tests lie in wait during a tough festive period.



Chelsea: Cech 6, Ivanovic 8, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Luis 7, Mikel 7 (Ramires 82, 6), Matic 6, Willian 7 (Schurrle 80, 6), Oscar 7 (Drogba 78, 6), Hazard 7, Costa 7.

Subs not used: Zouma, Remy, Schwarzer, Azpilicueta.

Hull: McGregor 7, Elmohamady 7, Chester 6, Dawson 5 (Bruce 10, 7), Davies 6, Robertson 6, Livermore 6, Huddlestone 6, Meyler 7, Jelavic 6 (Ramirez 74, 6), Aluko 6 (Brady 64, 7).

Subs not used: Rosenior, Hernandez, Jakupovic, Quinn.



==============


Express:



Chelsea 2 - Hull City 0: Steve Bruce in a rage at ‘diver’ Gary Cahill

FURIOUS Hull manager Steve Bruce accused Chelsea’s England defender Gary Cahill of diving like someone from ‘Swan Lake’ and claimed he should have been sent off.


By Tony Stenson


Bruce had midfield player Tom Huddlestone given a red card in a game that witnessed seven bookings and Chelsea fighting hard to stay top of the table.

Bruce was furious Cahill also avoided a red card for what looked very much like a dive in the Hull area, trying to force referee Chris Foy to give a penalty or get a player sent off.

Bruce said: “Should Cahill have gone? The simple answer is ‘Yes’.

Especially given the referee has already booked two people for simulation or diving. “Oscar, Eden Hazard or Willian are running at pace, so the smallest connection can bring them over.

This is England’s centre-half. “It could have been a red card after his first challenge on Sone Aluko.

That was reckless and dangerous. You expect the referee to do his job.

“Consequently, Tom Huddlestone, who is the most laid-back person, is frustrated with the decisions and produced a horror challenge which deserves a red card.

“But when you come to places like this, you need them to make the right call. Look at the replays and there’s no justification for it.”

Bruce added: “We need to stop this simulation that has crept into the game. That was not a hard decision.

“If I say what I want to say then I’ll be hauled up in front of the Premier League (FA) and I’ll have to pay the £10,000 fine.

“I got done £20,000 last year, so I’ll say nothing about it. The referee was 10 yards away. Everybody in the ground saw it.

“The frustration was we feel aggrieved as a team because it’s gone against us.

“When you watch it over, it’s like something out of Swan Lake. It’s that blatant, that obvious what he’s trying. And yet there’s some excuse they’ll find for it.

“Maybe we might not have been good enough to get something, but playing Chelsea with 10 men is a lot easier than playing against their 11.

“We were in the game right up until Huddlestone went off.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said: “I don’t believe Cahill dived. And if you tell me I’m wrong because he did, then something happened.

“Or they blocked his run. Or they touched. Or he lost balance. “But that big, honest guy? I don’t believe that he dived in the opposition’s box.”

The quality of Eden Hazard edged this match in Chelsea’s favour but it was not one of the impressive, dominant displays their fans have become accustomed to.

Less than seven minutes were on the clock when Mourinho’s men opened the scoring.

A clumsy John Obi Mikel challenge on Sone Aluko was missed and play continued, with the ball sprayed out wide to Oscar, whose cross was nodded home by Hazard.

Foy got it right when he brandished the red card to Huddlestone with 30 minutes remaining after a late lunge on Filipe Luis.

Diego Costa sealed the victory in the 68th minute after he had been set up by Hazard.


CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Luis, Mikel (Ramires 82), Matic, Willian (Schurrle 80), Oscar (Drogba 78), Hazard, Costa.

HULL: McGregor, Elmohamady, Chester, Dawson (Bruce 10), Davies, Robertson, Livermore, Meyler, Huddlestone, Jelavic (Ramirez 74), Aluko (Brady 64).
 


=======================


Star:


Chelsea 2 - Hull 0: Hazard shines as Blues win but Bruce fumes at Cahill dive

THANK goodness for the genius of Eden Hazard.


By Tony Stenson


Chelsea's Belgium ace scored one and made the other to ensure Chelsea remained top.

But it was a long, hard haul as Hull had them scared until they were reduced to ten men.

It made you questions the bookies.

Those money loving men, never slow to accept a pound, might have bitten off their own hands as they have already paid out millions on Chelsea winning the title after their flying start.

Now the pressure is on the person who made the decision.

Chelsea won again yesterday to remain top of the table but huge questions marks are being asked.

Where is the quality that had bookies and pundits citing them as the next side to charge through a season unbeaten?

Others are closing the gap. The deed is not done.

It needed the brilliance of Hazard and the potent striking of Diego Costa to finally douse the flames of Hull, who played the last half-hour one man short after Tom Huddlestone was sent off for a studs-up tackle on Felipe Luis.

Mourinho said: "We didn't play especially well but we played well enough for everybody connected with Chelsea - supporters, players, staff - to be calm, because the game was always under control. We never felt really the game in risk.

"Already this season we have had many special performances while today we just had moments of good football, moments of happiness and creativity and dynamism. Just moments. Not for 90 minutes.

"And it was a good enough display to win against a difficult team, which is important to say."

For long periods, Chelsea played as if they believed it would be a stroll.

They scored in the seventh minute when Hazard headed in his eighth goal of the season.

It could have been the start of an onslaught against a side who had never won in 20 previous games at Stamford Bridge, including 16 in the league. But it was not.

Instead we watched Hull manager Steve Bruce dancing on his touchline like a demented soul as he felt decisions went against him.

Bruce, who had won just one of his previous 19 Premier League matches against Chelsea as a manager, was screaming his head off as Chelsea took the lead.

He was furious Jon Obi Mikel's tackle on Sone Aluko went unpunished before Chelsea swept down the field and Oscar crossed for Chelsea's current Man of the Season Hazard to leap and head in.

Things got worse for Hull as they lost defender Michael Dawson to injury within seconds of conceding.

Yet despite their early setbacks, Hull refused to lie down, often going into Chelsea territory purpose and determination, although sadly lacking a predator to finish off their good work.

Chelsea for long periods were not at their best, yet overall seemed they had enough in their locker to fight off all questions.

Mourinho was an agitated figure at times, demanding standards and quality be raised.

John Terry and Gary Cahill were the usual defensive bedrocks but others needed too many touches.

Cahill was booked for a foul on 38th-minute foul on Aluko, which again had Bruce dancing angrily on the line. He wasn't a happy bunny.

He certainly wasn't after Huddlestone was dismissed and Chelsea scored their second in the 68th minute.

Hazard wormed his way through Hull's defence before laying on the pass for Costa to score his 12th goal of the season - all of which have come in the league.

Bruce accused Cahill of acting like someone in Swan Lake - and said he should have been sent off. After Cahill had already been booked, it looked as if he was guilty of diving in the Hull area.

Bruce asked: "Should Cahill have gone? The simple answer is yes, especially given the referee has already booked two people for simulation or diving.

"Oscar, Hazard or Willian are running at pace, so the smallest connection can bring them over. But this is England's centre-half.

"It could have been a red card after his first challenge on Aluko. That was reckless and dangerous. You expect the referee to do his job.

"Consequently, Tom Huddlestone, who is the most laid-back person, is frustrated with the decisions and produced a horror challenge which deserves a red card.

"But when you come to places like this, you need them to make the right call. Look at the replays and there's no justification for it.

"We need to stop this simulation that has crept in. That was not a hard decision.

"If I say what I want to say then I'll be hauled up in front of the Premier League and I'll have to pay the £10,000 fine. I got done £20,000 last year, so I'll say p*** all about it and save my pocket.

"When you see Hazard live, with his short centre of gravity, you can't touch him. But today this was Cahill.

"The referee was 10 yards away. Everybody in the ground saw it. We feel aggrieved as a team because it has gone against us.

"When you watch it over, it's like something out of Swan Lake. It's that blatant.

"Today summed up our season. We were competitive and played some decent stuff but things went against us.

"And Michael Dawson has done his hamstring. He felt it very quickly so it could be at least a month to six weeks."

Mourinho countered: "I don't believe Cahill dived. And if you tell me I'm wrong because he did, then something happened. Or they blocked his run. Or they touched. Or he lost balance.

"But that big, honest guy, I don't believe he dived in their box."