Which was the better goal: Lampard's or Bentley's?

The noise that could be heard on the banks of the Humber last night was not that of the Hull City bubble bursting but of the Chelsea bandwagon roaring into motion once more. It required the most elegant of kick-starts from Frank Lampard, whose third-minute goal was described by Luiz Felipe Scolari as one of the best he has witnessed in his career, but, once on the road, Chelsea were able to leave their blues behind them.

A first home league defeat in 4½ years, inflicted by Liverpool on Sunday, has left a dent in Chelsea’s armour and indeed their pride, but, away from the erstwhile fortress of Stamford Bridge, they are equally formidable. This was their fifth win in as many away matches in the Barclays Premier League under Scolari and, given that it came against a resilient Hull team whom they led only on goal difference at the start of play, it should not be underestimated.

This had all the makings of a difficult night for Chelsea, but, if second-half goals from Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda allowed them to relax, it was Lampard’s exquisite strike that was the abiding memory of their evening, a floated shot from the corner of the penalty area with his weaker left foot. Had it been another player, it might have been tempting to call it an overhit cross, but not Lampard. “He’s the only player with the quality to score this goal,” Scolari said. “He had the intelligence to see the goalkeeper and then the touch to score the goal. It was one of the best goals I have seen in football.”

Given that Scolari, in his time in charge of the Brazil and Portugal national teams, has coached players such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo, it was an almighty compliment, but the sincerity seemed to diminish slightly as the praise kept coming. Informed that five of his players had been among the 23 nominated as Fifa World Player of the Year, the Chelsea coach replied that: “My vote is for Frank.” Very laudable, but it is worth noting Scolari’s love of a superlative, particularly when he is quizzed in a foreign language.

Lampard’s goal certainly changed the complexion of the game, but Hull, after five straight wins, did not succumb until the second half, when a calamitous mix-up between Boaz Myhill and his defenders resulted in Anelka’s goal. To that point, Phil Brown’s team had fought hard, with Dean Marney competing well with Lampard in midfield, Geovanni trying to weave his magic and Daniel Cousin striking the foot of the post from 25 yards after holding off challenges from José Bosingwa, John Obi Mikel and John Terry.

For all Hull’s enthusiasm, though, the game would have been over sooner had Anelka and Malouda not taken until the second half to find their composure in front of goal. On no fewer than five occasions in the first half the France internationals found themselves with time and space to test Myhill, but their shooting was awry. Whatever their subsequent contributions, the return of Didier Drogba cannot come soon enough for Scolari.

The goal that Anelka scored, five minutes into the second half, was a gift from Myhill, who inexplicably waited on his 18-yard line to try to head away a bouncing ball. Even Anelka managed to raise a smile after nipping in to intercept and roll the ball into the unguarded net.

Malouda made it 3-0 with 15 minutes remaining, but the man who deserved the credit was Ricardo Carvalho, who set him up with the type of cross of which centre halves are not meant to be capable. The Portugal defender’s departure with a hamstring injury was the only black mark on Chelsea’s evening — that and news of Liverpool’s breakthrough at Anfield, which came through just as they were leaving the pitch.

Hull City (4-3-1-2): B Myhill — P McShane, M Turner, K Zayatte, A Dawson — D Marney (sub: R Garcia, 71min), I Ashbee, G Boateng (sub: P Halmosi, 63) — Geovanni — M King (sub: D Windass, 84), D Cousin. Substitutes not used: M Duke, B Mendy, S Ricketts, B Hughes.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): P Cech — J Bosingwa (sub: B Ivanovic, 86), R Carvalho, J Terry, A Cole — J O Mikel — J Cole (sub: J Belletti, 54), Deco (sub: S Kalou, 78), F Lampard, F Malouda — N Anelka. Substitutes not used: C Cudicini, Alex, W Bridge, F Di Santo. Booked: J Cole.

Referee: A Marriner.

Battle of the big Phils

Phil Brown

Born: South Shields.
Age: 49.
Clubs played for: 4, including Hartlepool United and Bolton Wanderers.
Teams managed: 3, Bolton (caretaker), Derby County and Hull City.
Contract: Signed new three-year deal in August.
Salary: About £1.5 million a year.

Luiz Felipe Scolari

Born: Passo Fundo, Brazil.
Age: 59.
Clubs played for: 4, including Caxias and Juventude.
Teams managed: 16, including Kuwait, Brazil and Portugal.
Contract: Agreed four-year deal in June.
Salary: £5.5 million a year.