PEDRO NETO’S MASTERCLASS: HOW CHELSEA’S HAT-TRICK HERO SILENCED A DEFIANT HULL CITY
Pedro Neto shines with a hat-trick! Chelsea clinical in 4-0 FA Cup win over Hull City. See the full match report and highlights.
Hull City put up a real fight, but Chelsea knocked them out of the FA Cup in the fourth round. Liam Rosenior’s team, heavily rotated for the occasion, couldn’t handle Pedro Neto, who ran the show with a hat-trick.
Chelsea finally broke through right before halftime. Neto picked up the ball on the edge of the box and drilled it into the bottom corner – pure class. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night.
Hull had a few bright spells early on, but without Oli McBurnie or Joe Gelhardt leading the line, they just couldn’t finish. Chelsea killed off the game right after the break, with Neto grabbing another and Estevao tapping in a third. Neto wrapped things up with a calm finish, thanks to some clever play from Liam Delap.
Jakirovic didn’t hold back with his changes – six in total from the team that lost to Bristol City. Phillips, McCarthy, Hadziahmetovic, Millar, Hirakawa, and Koumas all started. Charlie Hughes and Toby Collyer missed out through injury, and McBurnie wasn’t even in the squad. It was pretty clear Jakirovic had one eye on the marathon of fixtures coming up: seven games in three weeks.
Hull came out swinging. Within two minutes, Koumas beat the offside trap but then hesitated, and his ball across the goal went nowhere. Giles managed to recycle it, but Chelsea’s keeper Sanchez handled it easily.
Chelsea showed their teeth after ten minutes. Garnacho broke free behind Coyle and forced a sharp stop from Phillips, with McCarthy blocking Neto’s follow-up. Hull responded, Slater sparked a counter, and Millar hustled to win the ball back and set up Koumas, but his shot got blocked. Estevao had a golden chance minutes later, rounding Phillips only to blast his effort over the bar.
Phillips gave Delap a gift after dawdling on the ball, the rebound bouncing off the bar to the ex-Hull striker, but Phillips scrambled back for a crucial save. Hull countered; Hirakawa drew a foul on the edge of the box, and Giles forced Sanchez into a save.
Hull kept battling, but right before halftime, they got punished for not clearing their lines. Neto pounced, firing low into the bottom corner. That was real Premier League quality, and Chelsea had it in abundance.
The second half? All Chelsea. Neto scored straight from a corner, the ball slipping through Phillips at the near post. Soon after, Delap powered down the wing and set up Estevao for a simple finish – no way back for Hull.
Lundstram and Gelhardt came on for Hull, while Chelsea brought on Enzo Fernandez and Josh Acheampong. Drameh, Joseph, and Dowell followed for Hull, and Delap left the pitch to warm applause from the home crowd. Koumas almost grabbed a late consolation, hitting the post in stoppage time.
With Hull’s defensive struggles this season, this was always going to be a tough night if Chelsea showed up. Rosenior got a solid reception from the home fans, and his team gave it a real go in attack.
But now, Hull have to refocus. There are fifteen promotion games left, and that’s the real priority. Time to regroup and get ready for the run-in.
XAVI OPENLY DECLARES INTEREST IN CHELSEA JOB DURING PERMANENT MANAGER SEARCH
With Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola on the shortlist, explore why Xavi Hernández wants to take over the Chelsea hotseat next.
Xavi has openly said he’d love to manage Chelsea, and now the Blues are hunting for someone to replace Liam Rosenior.
Rosenior got the sack last month after a rough patch just three months into his huge contract that was supposed to last six and a half years. Calum McFarlane is filling in as interim head coach until season’s end, but Chelsea are actively looking for a permanent boss for the 2026/27 campaign.
They're considering some big names. Xabi Alonso’s been mentioned; he’s been out of work since leaving Real Madrid in January. Andoni Iraola, who’s about to leave Bournemouth, is also on the shortlist.
Cesc Fabregas has been linked after his strong run at Como, and Frank Lampard’s in the mix too, fresh off winning the Championship with Coventry and securing promotion.
But Xavi really stands out. He’s already made it clear he’s interested in the Chelsea job. Back in 2019, before his Barcelona return, he said, “I don’t hide it; my goal is to come back to Europe and to Barca. It's my challenge, but I’m enjoying this current project. For me, training a team in Barcelona would be a privilege, the biggest privilege.”
He didn’t just talk about Spain either. “Honestly, who doesn’t love the Premier League? The atmosphere, packed stadiums, everyone says it’s incredible,” Xavi admitted. “If I had to pick, I’d go for a big team: City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal, or Tottenham. Klopp, Pochettino, and Unai Emery are doing amazing work there.”
After returning to Barcelona in 2021, Xavi led them to a La Liga title and the Supercopa de España before Hansi Flick took over in 2024. He’s been out of work since.
Now, Chelsea seems seriously interested in the Spaniard. According to The i, the club wants someone who can embed a strong football identity across their teams, something Enzo Maresca started.
Getting Xavi won’t be easy, though. Morocco’s national team reportedly sees him as a top candidate to replace Walid Regragui, and Manchester United is eyeing him too as they weigh options beyond Michael Carrick.
Meanwhile, Xabi Alonso is the bookmakers’ favourite for the Chelsea role, but word is he’d want more control over club decisions if he moves to west London.
COLE PALMER MISSES PENALTY AS CHELSEA SUFFER HISTORIC SIXTH CONSECUTIVE LEAGUE DEFEAT
Chelsea matched a 1912 record with their 6th straight loss, falling 3-1 to Forest as Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice at the Bridge.
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Chelsea hit rock bottom again, losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge. That’s six Premier League defeats in a row now, something the club hadn’t seen since 1912. Just when you thought the season couldn’t get any worse, Forest showed up with a makeshift lineup and absolutely stunned them. Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice, one barely a minute into the match, and then Igor Jesus put away a penalty, and suddenly Forest was six points clear of the drop zone.
Chelsea hadn’t scored in five games, and it looked like that streak would go on forever. Then, in stoppage time, Joao Pedro finally managed an overhead kick to break the drought. That run was made even more ridiculous earlier when Cole Palmer missed a first-half penalty. Matz Sels, Forest’s backup goalkeeper, saved it.
Honestly, the crowd in the Shed End probably barely recognised their own team. Pereira swapped in seven new outfield players, most of them with almost no league experience; he was clearly thinking about the upcoming Europa League semi-final. But it looked like Chelsea was the stranger out there.
Things only got worse for interim head coach Calum McFarlane. He lost Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho to late injuries, so 18-year-old Jesse Derry had to make his Premier League debut. Then, late in the first half, Derry collided heads with Forest’s Zach Abbott and had to be stretchered off after getting oxygen. It was brutal to watch.
The match itself? Chaos. Less than two minutes in, Chelsea messed up their own throw-in and let Forest stroll through midfield. Dilane Bakwa beat Marc Cucurella with little effort and crossed to Awoniyi, who was completely unmarked and headed it in.
Fifteen minutes later, Chelsea conceded again. Bakwa whipped in another cross; Malo Gusto pulled Awoniyi’s shirt, and VAR handed Forest a penalty. Jesus hammered it right down the middle.
The first half was hopeless, and by the end, serious concern set in after that nasty head clash between Derry and Abbott. Abbott, playing just his second league game, left on his own, but Derry needed serious treatment and was stretchered off.
After a nearly ten-minute stoppage, Palmer’s penalty was stopped by Sels. At halftime, Levi Colwill returned from a major injury he hadn’t played since tearing his ACL in August. He tried to restore order, but nothing changed.
Forest’s third goal came just seven minutes into the second half. Gibbs-White crossed, and Awoniyi tapped in from close range, just managing to stay onside. Chelsea’s keeper, Robert Sanchez, took a knock and left with a bandaged head after colliding with Gibbs-White.
Pedro’s late goal barely counted for anything. The few Chelsea fans left in the stadium cheered, but it was more out of irony than joy.
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