Hull held free-scoring Chelsea 2-2 at Stamford Bridge to go third in the Premier League as Liverpool failed to find a way past struggling Fulham in a goalless draw on Saturday.
Tottenham’s wait for a league goal goes on despite a £300 million splurge on new players as they drew another blank in a stalemate with Everton.
Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!
It was a familiar tale for Chelsea as the front three of Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer dazzled, but the Blues were undone by an inability to defend.
In five games against top-flight opposition since Xabi Alonso took charge, Chelsea have scored 16 times and conceded 12.
“(It’s) maybe entertaining, but I hope one day you’ll say it was a boring game and we win and we don’t give these entertaining moments,” Alonso said.
Hull were the last side in the Premier League to concede, but after three clean sheets they were finally breached when Rogers drilled in at the near post on seven minutes.
Mohamed Belloumi took advantage of Chelsea’s slackness at the back to blast home on the volley after Jorrel Hato got caught under a cross to the back post.
The Algerian winger then put Hull in front with a deflected strike after Emiliano Martinez failed to deal with a corner.
Joao Pedro drilled a Palmer cross into the top corner to bring Chelsea level just after the hour mark.
But the home side could not find a winner as Hull’s honeymoon back in the Premier League goes on with only defending champions Arsenal and Manchester City above them in the table.
Australia’s Lucas Herrington was brought off the bench in the 59th minute and the 19-year-old impressed again was another assured defensive display.
Herrington also had the chance to head home the winner from a corner in the 96th minute, but he nodded it wide.
Tigers boss Sergej Jakirovic, whose team are still unbeaten, said: “I feel good. We have to be happy. It’s a huge result for us.
“We had 2-1 at half-time and we had a 100 per cent chance with McBurnie, but Martinez’s save was excellent.
“We can be very happy. We took a point in a very demanding match.”
– Fulham fight for Arbeloa –
Liverpool remain unbeaten under Andoni Iraola but there were boos at Anfield after Fulham picked up their first point under Alvaro Arbeloa.
Former Liverpool defender Arbeloa was reportedly fighting for his job after losing his first three league matches since arriving in west London from Real Madrid.
Yet a Liverpool forward line featuring three £100 million players in Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak failed to click against the Cottagers’ leaky defence.
“When you draw, especially at home, you can’t be happy,” said Iraola, who blamed fatigue after his side’s Champions League exertions against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
“Today we lacked a bit of freshness and we did not do enough offensively to make the difference.”
Liverpool climb to sixth but could find themselves already six points off the top should Arsenal win at Sunderland later on Saturday.
Tottenham’s big-spending window was supposed to ensure there is no repeat of finishing 17th in the last two seasons.
But they sit just inside the relegation zone as a barren run in front of goal showed no sign of ending.
Everton even missed the best chance to break the deadlock when Brennan Johnson skewed wide against his former club.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side have yet to score a single goal in four Premier League matches this season and Tottenham supporters showed their frustration at the final whistle.
After the jeers had rained down from the stands, Tottenham boss De Zerbi said he understood the abuse.
“I’m sorry for the fans. They were fantastic today. It is normal, the reaction of the fans,” he said.
Arsenal extended a flawless start to their Premier League title defence thanks to Bruno Guimaraes’s stunning strike in a 2-0 win over Sunderland.
Arsenal were indebted to David Raya’s penalty save from Enzo Le Fee as they opened up a three-point lead over Manchester City after four wins from their opening four games.
Just over two minutes later, Guimaraes silenced the Stadium of Light with his first Arsenal goal that arrowed into the top corner from long range.
Bukayo Saka’s penalty with the final kick of the game sealed another impressive win for Mikel Arteta’s men.
City can move back alongside leaders Arsenal if they win the Manchester derby against United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
But a significant gap is already beginning to open up between Arsenal and the rest of the title contenders.
Aston Villa are stuck in the bottom three after Nottingham Forest struck late to exact revenge for defeat in last season’s Europa League semi-finals.
Eyebrows were raised at the club-record £45 million Forest reportedly paid Chelsea for Liam Delap after he failed to make the grade at Stamford Bridge.
But Delap proved his worth with a long-range strike into the bottom corner to open the scoring.
Alysson levelled with Villa’s first league goal of the season, but Igor Jesus secured Oliver Glasner’s first win as Forest boss.
Glasner’s old club Crystal Palace’s poor start to the campaign continued with a 3-2 home defeat to Ipswich.
The visitors were aided by Axel Disasi’s first-half red card as Zian Flemming’s first goal for the Tractor Boys snatched all three points in stoppage time.
Brentford remain unbeaten thanks to Kevin Schade’s double in a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
The Cherries, by contrast, are yet to win in the Premier League under Marco Rose despite leading in all four games.