Hull City draw at Stamford Bridge extends unbeaten run as rise from near relegation continues
On Saturday night Hull City drew 2-2 at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League match, leaving them third in the table with eight points; the result extended their unbeaten run to four matches.
Sixteen months earlier Hull had avoided relegation to League One on goal difference after a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park and Luton's defeat to West Brom preserved their Championship status. Four months ago Oli McBurnie's last-minute goal at Wembley secured the club's promotion via the Championship playoff final. Three weeks before the season began, preseason forecasts predicted Hull might contend with Derby County’s record for the Premier League's worst points tally, yet their league position has since defied those expectations.
Hull’s trajectory included a turbulent 2024-25 campaign: they scored only 44 goals in 46 Championship matches and were subject to a transfer embargo after failing to pay Aston Villa £1m for Louie Barry’s loan fee, which restricted summer strengthening. Manager Rubén Sellés, appointed five months earlier, was dismissed before Sergej Jakirovic arrived at the start of last season and guided the team to a sixth-place finish and a playoff berth.
Under Jakirovic Hull accumulated 73 points in the Championship while scoring 70 goals, contrasted in the article with Coventry's 95 points and 97 goals; defensively they conceded 66 goals, the fourth-worst record in the division. The article notes that, by expected goals, Hull’s results would have placed them second-bottom, underscoring how their league position exceeded underlying statistics.
Jakirovic’s side have maintained a low-possession, direct approach. Assistant manager Dean Holden said: “We are comfortable without the ball. It is not like we are coming up here having dominated the Championship and now we have to change.” Hull averaged 45% possession in the Championship, the fifth-lowest, and their Premier League possession has fallen to 29.4%, the lowest in the division.
Their attacking method remains long and vertical: frequent long balls to Oli McBurnie with midfielders competing for second balls before switches to the wings, often targeting Ryan Giles at left wing-back. Hull attempted the second-most long passes in the Championship last season (3,057) and this season have attempted the second-most long passes (237) in the Premier League; they recorded the fewest passes per sequence in the Championship (2.5) and currently have the fewest passes per sequence in the Premier League (2.46). Giles produced 207 crosses in the Championship, ranking 10th, and has 28 crosses in the Premier League this season, ranking third.
Defensively Jakirovic has stuck with a mid-to-low block and a 5-4-1 shape used to shut out Millwall and Middlesbrough in the playoffs, relying on Regan Slater and Matt Crooks to screen midfield while John Egan and Semi Ajayi handle central duels. Summer arrivals such as Nobel Mendy have added physicality; Hull's 53.8% ground duel success rate and 52.3% aerial duel success rate both rank sixth in the Premier League. The side did not concede in their first three top-flight matches, and their results so far include wins over Manchester United and Coventry plus draws with Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Jakirovic commented on the club's recent hardships and group cohesion: “Maybe it was the best that it happened like this. This group of players became even closer. They had to stick together and help each other.” The article notes Hull spent £150m over the summer while retaining continuity—eight of the starting XI at Stamford Bridge were part of last season’s promotion-winning team.
We are in September and there are 34 more games to come; the piece recalls that in 2008-09 Hull were third after nine games but finished the season surviving relegation by a single point, and concludes that, for now, supporters can enjoy the team's place in the upper reaches of the table.