HULL CITY 2 CHELSEA 3
Hull City - Elmohamady 26', Hernandez 28'
Chelsea - Hazard 2', Costa 9', Remy 77'
Man of the match - Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Loic Remy came off the bench to rescue three points for Chelsea at Hull City, with goalkeeper Thibault Courtois a relieved man after his first-half error.
A 3-2 victory restored Chelsea's six-point lead at the Premier League summit, but the hosts felt desperately unlucky not to take something from a rousing encounter.
Fine efforts from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa put the visitors two up inside nine minutes, but the expected rout never materialised as Hull stunned their visitors with two goals in as many minutes before the half-hour.
Ahmed Elmohamady tapped home the first after a wonderful run and cross by Andy Robertson, and Courtois’ calamitous touch handed Abel Hernandez an open net just seconds later.
For long periods thereafter the relegation battlers were the better side, driving relentlessly at a Chelsea team who were visibly shaken, but Remy settled matters just 92 seconds after replacing Costa, who could not add to his 20th of the season. It was a flowing move from the league leaders, ending with Willian’s cutback to Remy, whose shot squirmed agonisingly over the line after sneaking through Allan McGregor’s legs.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said his side had earned the victory, despite their wobble at 2-0.
“The performance was very, very good until 2-0,” he said. “We lost a bit of quality after their two goals, but in the second half from minute one, we recovered a good level of football. We deserved the three points.
“From our side, it was high-quality football. When we conceded the two goals, we were affected by that. In the last period of the first half, we didn’t play really well.
“I was going to play Remy and Diego together, but Diego was injured so we had to go just for Remy. And even as a lone striker he got the goal.”
The result strengthens Chelsea’s grasp on the title and does little for Hull’s fight against the drop, though Steve Bruce’s men at least showed heart for the struggle ahead.
Hull manager Steve Bruce hailed his side’s performance.
“I think going 2-0 down after nine minutes, you need a response, and what a response,” he said. “The players put in a hell of a shift, and something like 19 shots on target against a really strong Chelsea team shows we’re ready for the challenge ahead.”
That was not the case when Chelsea took the lead with embarrassing ease in the second minute.
Hazard was the most alert man on the field, collecting Costa’s pass and charging towards goal as the entire Hull team, most notably Gaston Ramirez and Paul McShane, backed away and allowed him to wind up as he approached the area.
His rasping shot zipped past McGregor and kicked off a breakneck period of scoring.
Hull should have equalised moments later, Hernandez going one on one with Courtois after Dame N’Doye’s clever flick on. He made a clean connection with his shot, but Courtois, having narrowed the angle, spread himself to make a vital save.
Chelsea cashed in with their second, Costa collecting Cesc Fabregas’ ball before darting into the left channel.
He appeared to have lost his shooting angle but cut back, evaded Michael Dawson and Alex Bruce, and bent a stunning effort across McGregor and in off the far post.
Hull got back into it though their quickfire double, but Remy settled matters at the end.
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Biography
Her family: She has four sons, aged 29, 27, 25 and 24 and is a grandmother-of-nine
Favourite book: Flashes of Thought by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
Favourite drink: Water
Her hobbies: Reading and volunteer work
Favourite music: Classical music
Her motto: I don't wait, I initiate
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
FIGHT CARD
1. Featherweight 66kg
Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg
Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg
Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg
Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg
Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg
Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg
Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg
Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Abdipatta Abdizhali (KGZ)
9. Featherweight 66kg
Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 502hp at 7,600rpm
Torque: 637Nm at 5,150rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh317,671
On sale: now
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Neo%20Mobility%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20February%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abhishek%20Shah%20and%20Anish%20Garg%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Logistics%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Delta%20Corp%2C%20Pyse%20Sustainability%20Fund%2C%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
