Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has spoken candidly about his side's defensive shortcomings after the Blues were held to a 2-2 draw by Hull City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday — their second dropped points in as many games.

A familiar, frustrating pattern

Morgan Rogers opened the scoring as early as the 7th minute, assisted by João Pedro following a swift counter-attack that also ended Hull's clean-sheet run to start the season. Chelsea appeared to be in control, but the visitors turned the game on its head with two goals inside six minutes.

Mohamed Belloumi struck twice — in the 28th and 34th minutes — to put Hull ahead. His first arrived after Jorrel Hato misjudged a bouncing cross from Ryan Giles, with Malo Gusto's poor dealing compounding the error. The second came when Emiliano Martínez failed to collect a corner; Semi Ajayi's header struck the bar, and Belloumi bundled home the deflected rebound.

João Pedro hauled Chelsea level in the 66th minute, finishing a low cross from Cole Palmer to earn the hosts a point they will feel they should not have needed.

Twenty league games without a clean sheet

The draw extended a deeply concerning run: Chelsea have now gone 20 Premier League matches without keeping a clean sheet, conceding nine goals across their four league fixtures this season — with multiple goals shipped in every single match so far.

Alonso acknowledged the recurring pattern in his post-match remarks, making clear that the attacking unit is not the problem. The Rogers-Palmer-Pedro combination has produced consistently, linking for both goals on Saturday, but defensive concentration and midfield shape continue to let the side down.