Following today’s clash between Chelsea and Hull City, here are the instant reactions from both managers.
Chelsea hosted Hull City at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup for an 8pm kick off on Friday February 16, with the hosts taking a comprehensive four nil victory to take the pressure somewhat back off Antonio Conte.
Willian opened the scoring in the second minute and completed his brace just after the half hour mark. By that point though Pedro had already put them two up and Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for the club following his January arrival from Arsenal to make it four.
Hull improved after the break and did see a David Meyler penalty saved by Willy Caballero but despite the size of the scoreline Nigel Adkins will be pleased with the performance as they almost matched the Stamford Bridge outfit and had opportunities themselves to give a better reflection for those who only look at the final result.
Chelsea’s victory was justified however and a better reflection for Hull arguably wouldn’t have demonstrated that.
Teams:
Chelsea:
Caballero, Rudiger, Ampadu, Cahill, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Fabregas (Scott 62), Palmieri dos Santos, Willian, Giroud (Morata 70), Pedro (Hudson-Odoi 45).
Substitutes:
Moses, Eduardo, Chalobah, Sterling.
Hull:
Marshall, Meyler, Dawson, MacDonald, Clark, Stewart, Irvine (Batty 88), Wilson (Toral 55), Evandro, Diomande, Dicko (Campbell 72).
Substitutes:
McGregor, Grosicki, Keane, Clackstone.
Speaking to the BBC’s cameras a short time after match day referee Andre Marriner blew the final whistle, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte explained.
‘Good game, good performance. It was great for us. The most important thing is that we are in the next round. Now we have to prepare for the game against Barcelona. You hope to always have a game that you can dominate. Our start was impressive. We started with great focus and concentration, will to score and wanted to go to the next round. I`m really pleased with the commitment of my players. It was a positive night for us because we had the opportunity to rest some important players. At the same time, I saw players in good form. I have different options. Now we have three days to make the best decision for the game against Barcelona. We lost two games at the end of a busy period. Now we have the right confidence again. But in the next two weeks we have to play massive games and we must be strong – Barcelona, United and City. We are ready.’
Hull City head coach Nigel Adkins in his comparative interview explained.
‘We gifted them an early goal. You could see their flair and how they break up play. We allowed them too much ball in the first half. The second half was a different story, although it was game over. We kept the ball and built things. There was great character from the players. At 4-0 down it could have gone the other way. We should have scored some goals. Evandro played his first 90 minutes for god knows how long. Michael Dawson was playing, that`s the first time he`s played with Angus MacDonald. That looks a good partnership. Whoever was fit for selection was out there today. First half, well done Chelsea. Second half, well done us. We have 15 cup games to go.’
