Hesitant Start and Harsh Defensive Criticism. Xabi Alonso After Dropping Points: "I'd Rather Have Boring Wins"

Chelsea became the first team this season to score against Hull, but their productive attack was once again overshadowed by defensive frailties. Alonso's side has conceded at least twice in every league match, shipping twelve goals in their last six outings. Morgan Rogers opened the scoring in the 7th minute, but Mohamed Belloumi's brace turned the tide for the visitors.

"I think we're performing better in attack than in defense. We've only played four league matches, but I don't like the dynamic we're seeing when it comes to conceding goals," Alonso commented on the start of the season, according to DPA.

His team still managed to salvage a point against the squad led by August's Premier League Manager of the Month, Sergey Jakirovich, thanks to a goal from Joao Pedro, but it wasn't enough for their third win of the current campaign.

"We can be better. We get what we deserve. We need to be more solid and play with more control. These are new players and a new coaching staff, so in a few months, we'll be able to control the game better," stated the 44-year-old coach, who, despite the exciting matches, prefers dull victories.

"Maybe it's entertaining, but I'd rather win a boring match without such interesting moments," added the Spaniard, whose team, after another stumble, now trails league leaders Arsenal by five points.

Liverpool's players are a point further adrift, having drawn for the third time this season. Andoni Iraola's men couldn't break down Fulham's defense this time, with the Cottagers keeping their first clean sheet of the new season and earning a point in a 0-0 draw.

The "Reds" entered the match as favorites, but even multi-million-pound attacking reinforcements couldn't secure Iraola his first home league triumph at the Liverpool helm. "As a team, we didn't play well. Many things we tried to do didn't come off," commented home goalkeeper Alisson.

Liverpool dominated possession at Anfield, but none of their attacking aces shone. Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola squandered big chances, while Florian Wirtz's shots were blocked by the defense in front of goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

"It's the first game since I've been here where we've struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities and make an impact in attack. The players lacked freshness in attack," said the 44-year-old manager Iraola after the match, clearly dissatisfied with the shared points.

"When you draw, especially at home, you can't be happy. We didn't do enough in attack to decide the game. We started slowly, lacked energy, and our performance simply wasn't good enough," concluded the former Bournemouth coach.