Sergej Jakirovic has declared a Chelsea star was player of the match despite his Hull City side securing an unlikely 2-2 draw on Saturday.
The newly-promoted side maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season at Stamford Bridge and could well have taken all three points.
Morgan Rogers opened the scoring in west London – the first goal Hull have conceded this campaign – only for a quick-fire double from Mohamed Belloumi to put the Tigers ahead before the break.
Joao Pedro struck in the second-half to ensure the points were shared, with Hull now third in the table after four games – behind only Manchester City and Arsenal.
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Though they were unbeaten, and beat Manchester United on the opening day, few predicted the Tigers would get anything from this match, with their entire team rightly receiving their plaudits.
But Jakirovic singled out one of Xabi Alonso’s summer signings for praise, naming him as player of the match – and it is a somewhat surprising choice.
‘I feel good. We have to be happy. It’s a huge result for us,’ the Tigers manager told BBC Sport.
‘We had 2-1 at half-time and we had a 100 per cent chance with [Oli] McBurnie but Emiliano Martinez’s save was excellent.
‘We have to control play better in the box because we can stop this [Pedro’s goal]. We had an excellent chance for [Mohamed-Ali] Cho – Martinez saved again. Player of the match.
‘We can be very happy. We took a point in a very demanding match.
‘Eight points against very difficult opponents. We have to continue like this.’
Though Martinez, an £8.5million signing from Aston Villa, did make those two big saves to keep Chelsea in the game, it was an overall shaky performance from the goalkeeper.
Though the Argentine could do little to stop the first Hull goal, he was arguably at fault for the second, failing to claim the ball from a corner before it was deflected in.
In six games across all competitions this season, the Blues have conceded 12 goals and are now 20 league matches without a clean sheet – a run that stretches back to January.
Hull give injury update on Nobel Mendy
Jakirovic also gave a worrying update on Nobel Mendy, confirming the Hull defender had suffered concussion during the match.
Mendy accidentally collided heads with Pedro in the second-half and was briefly motionless on the ground, before being able to stand up.
He could not continue for long however, and was subbed off just before the hour mark, with Jakirovic revealing the 22-year-old had been sent to the hospital.
‘He went to hospital for a scan. He’s dizzy and disorientated,’ the manager said.
‘We’ll see. It’s a concussion 100 per cent.’
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