For an afternoon that began with such easy promise, Chelsea will look back on this one with a frown. Seven minutes in they led, purring, and the west London crowd settled in for a comfortable Saturday. By the half-hour they trailed, undone by a visiting side who refused to read the script, and it took a moment of quality from João Pedro after the break to salvage a 2-2 draw that felt closer to a rescue than a result.

Hull City, newly promoted in reputation but nobody's whipping boys in practice, left Stamford Bridge with their unbeaten record intact and their standing enhanced. Mohamed Belloumi was the author of the drama, his two first-half goals turning a lively contest on its head. Chelsea huffed and pressed through the second half, found their equaliser, and then discovered that a stubborn Hull back line had no intention of yielding a third.

The point keeps Chelsea fourth on seven, but it is a share of the spoils that will sting more than soothe. Twice they were made to chase a game they had every reason to control, and twice their defending invited trouble. For all the flair up front, the questions this afternoon posed were asked at the other end.

A dream opening

It could hardly have started better. Inside seven minutes Chelsea broke at speed, João Pedro carrying the ball forward before releasing Morgan Rogers on the left. Rogers took a touch and swept a left-footed finish into the bottom-left corner, and Stamford Bridge roared its approval. The early goal seemed to confirm every expectation of a home procession.

Rogers, all quick feet and quicker thinking, looked the likeliest man on the pitch in those opening exchanges. The break that led to his goal had a ruthlessness about it, the kind of transition Chelsea have leaned on when at their best. For twenty minutes the hosts moved the ball with confidence and Hull were pinned back, chasing shadows and shape.

But an early lead is a fragile thing when it breeds complacency, and Chelsea allowed the tempo to drift. Hull City, sensing the game had not run away from them, began to push higher up the pitch. The warning signs flickered before they were heeded, and by the time Chelsea looked up, the visitors had found their footing.

Belloumi turns it around

The equaliser arrived in the 28th minute and it was a fine one. Ryan Giles delivered from the left and Belloumi met it in the centre of the box, steering a left-footed finish into the bottom-right corner beyond the reach of the goalkeeper. Suddenly the noise inside Stamford Bridge changed timbre, the confidence of the home crowd giving way to unease.

Six minutes later it was worse. From a corner half-cleared, Oliver McBurnie fed Belloumi on the edge of the area, and the forward needed no invitation. His left foot did the rest, a low strike from outside the box that skidded into the bottom-left corner. Two goals in six minutes, both from the same man, both dispatched with a striker's calm. Hull City led 2-1 and thoroughly deserved to.

Belloumi's brace was a masterclass in the art of the poacher and the finisher combined, the first a matter of positioning and the second of pure execution. Chelsea's defenders were left glancing at one another, searching for the accountability that a two-goal collapse demands. Hull, organised and hungry, went into the interval with the game precisely where they wanted it.

João Pedro responds

Chelsea returned for the second half with the urgency their first-half lethargy had lacked. The pressure built steadily, wave after wave, until it finally told in the 66th minute. Cole Palmer, inevitably at the heart of the good things Chelsea produced, threaded the ball to João Pedro in the centre of the box, and the Brazilian arched a left-footed finish into the top-left corner. It was a strike of real class, and it drew the sides level.

From there Chelsea pushed for the winner that would have flattered them, and Hull City stood firm. The visitors defended their box with numbers and nerve, throwing bodies in the way and refusing to be dragged out of shape. Palmer probed, Rogers darted, João Pedro hunted for a second, but the third goal would not come.

When the whistle sounded, the two responses told the story. Hull's players celebrated a point earned the hard way, on the road, against opposition of pedigree. Chelsea's trudged off knowing they had let a winnable afternoon slip through their fingers, the memory of that seventh-minute lead now a distant, faintly mocking thing.

Where it leaves them

For Hull City the numbers are eloquent. Third in the table on eight points, two wins and two draws from four, still without a defeat, and a defence that has now conceded just twice all season. This is a side built on resilience and a hard core of self-belief, and Belloumi's afternoon offered proof that they carry a threat to match their solidity. Few would have marked Stamford Bridge as a place to further their cause, yet they leave it having done exactly that.

Chelsea, meanwhile, sit fourth on seven, their record a curious one: ten goals scored, nine conceded, a team that entertains but does not yet convince. The attacking talent is obvious, with Rogers, Palmer and João Pedro all capable of moments to settle any match. The soft centre is equally obvious, and until it is addressed, afternoons like this will keep recurring. A draw at home to a promoted side is not a crisis, but it is a nudge.

The table has a tightness to it that will keep both managers watchful. A single point separates these two, and the margins at the top of the Premier League this early are wafer-thin. Hull City will fancy their chances of holding this altitude a while longer; Chelsea must decide whether they are a side that outscores its problems or one that finally learns to stop them. On this evidence, the jury remains firmly out.