New blue blood: Ricardo Quaresma caught the eye on his Chelsea debut but the London side were still held at home by H.City.
Chelsea's title hopes were left in arrears at Stamford Bridge
No way through: Chelsea's title hopes were left in arrears at Stamford Bridge.
It took under two minutes for the first bit of trickery, the opening gambit of Portuguese trivela. As Ricardo Quaresma's sleight of foot induced a panicky lunge from Hull defender Sam Ricketts, was this Chelsea's first glimpse of a quicksilver talent who chase away the shadows around Stamford Bridge?
The winger, signed on loan from Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan on transfer deadline day, lasted just beyond the hour mark, his departure triggering further unrest among Chelsea followers. Chants from the Matthew Harding Stand queried whether manager Luiz Felipe Scolari was fully aware of his actions.
Quaresma had looked sharp and inventive but such positives were subsumed in the general gloom of another fretful Chelsea performance. They sparked in the first half, indeed Quaresma could have marked his debut with a goal but for Matt Duke's stretching save, yet Hull grew in confidence and were increasingly comfortable after the interval.
Chelsea and Quaresma both have much to prove in the coming weeks. The Portuguese magician failed at Barcelona and has been eased out of the San Siro six months after Mourinho reportedly waved aside the doubts of Inter president Massimo Moratti to buy him from Porto for £16 million His stock had slid so low in Milan that he was being jeered by his own supporters and in an end-of-year poll, Italian radio listeners had given him their 'golden bin' award for Serie A's worst player.
Yet Quaresma and his trademark trivela a personalised art of conjuring the ball with the outside of the foot which upcoming opponents are advised to check out on YouTube is quickly winning admirers in London. Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka said: "He is very skilful, intelligent. He will bring a lot to the team."
Chelsea are in desperate need of inspiration after failing to win at home for the seventh time in 13 league matches. Brighter performers such as Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Salomon Kalou faded alarmingly in the second half, and Scolari's introduction of Deco and Didier Drogba had little effect.
"There seems to be a little anxiety with the lads when the goal doesn't come early on," assistant coach Ray Wilkins said. How different it might have been had John Terry not somehow lofted over the Hull crossbar from a yard out following Quaresma's early-won free-kick.
Credit, though, to Hull for a performance that banished fears of a Premier League freefall. Michael Turner and Kamil Zayatte were imposing in central defence, captain Ian Ashbee led the midfield harrying of Lampard and Michael Ballack, while Craig Fagan troubled Alex with some clever running. Dean Marney and Fagan even had chances to punish Chelsea's torpor more severely.
"Even if we bring our best game to the table, if Chelsea had, too, we'd still be in trouble," Hull manager Phil Brown said. "Today they didn't, we did and our game is all about energy. To get something from this game was a massive achievement."
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