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| Willian celebrating his goal with teammates, Victor Moses and Cesar Azpilicueta |
It was a hard haul, but Willian and Diego Costa produced fine second-half finishes as Chelsea tasted victory for the first time in four Premier League outings with a 2-0 triumph at Hull City.
Antonio Conte’s side performed fitfully in their 3-4-3 formation during the early stages and Thibaut Courtois was the busier of the two goalkeepers before the break.
Warnings from former Italy boss Conte that the 2014-15 champions could be set for another mid-table finish without improvement this season were cutting a little too close to the bone at that stage but his players showed their quality in a clinical display after half-time.
Costa was the provider as Willian netted with aplomb after the hour before the Spain international rifled in his sixth goal in seven league appearances this season.
Chelsea, who move up to sixth, dominated to the extent they were unfortunate not to add further gloss to the scoreline against a Hull side who have added a solitary point since their opening salvo of wins against Leicester City and Swansea City.
There were full debuts for Hull duo Dieumerci Mbokani and Markus Henriksen, along with Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso, while Victor Moses made a first Premier League start for the visitors since May 2013.