Premier League Action: Chelsea Held by Hull, Liverpool Stumbled by Fulham, and Villa Stay Winless

Hull held free-scoring Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge to claim third place in the Premier League on Saturday, while Liverpool failed to break down struggling Fulham in a 0-0 stalemate. It proved to be a familiar narrative for Chelsea, as the attacking trio of Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro, and Cole Palmer sparkled, yet the Blues were continually undermined by defensive frailties. In five matches against top-flight opponents since Xabi Alonso took over, Chelsea have netted 16 times but conceded 12 goals.

Hull entered the match as the last side in the Premier League yet to concede, but after three consecutive clean sheets, their defense was finally breached when Morgan Rogers drilled a low shot in at the near post after just seven minutes. Mohamed Belloumi capitalized on defensive slackness from Chelsea to volley home an equalizer after Jorrel Hato misjudged a cross to the back post. The Algerian winger then fired Hull ahead via a deflection after Emi Martinez failed to adequately deal with a corner kick. Joao Pedro responded by hammering a Cole Palmer cross into the top corner to level the score for Chelsea shortly after the hour mark. However, the hosts could not find a winning goal, ensuring Hull's impressive return to the Premier League continues, with only defending champions Arsenal and Manchester City ahead of them in the standings.

Elsewhere, Liverpool remained unbeaten under the guidance of Aimar Iraola, though discontent echoed around Anfield as Fulham secured their first point under Alvaro Arbeloa. Former Liverpool defender Arbeloa had reportedly been fighting to save his job after losing his opening three league fixtures since arriving in west London from Real Madrid. Despite deploying an attacking line featuring three 100 million pound players in Bradley Barcola, Florian Wirtz, and Alexander Isak, Liverpool failed to find rhythm against Fulham's vulnerable defense. In fact, Fulham carved out the better opportunities to claim all three points, with Gonzalo Garcia missing a clear chance in the first half and Alisson Becker pulling off a crucial save to deny Josh King a late winner. The result lifts Liverpool to sixth in the table, though they risk falling six points off the summit should Arsenal defeat Sunderland later on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa remain entrenched in the relegation zone following Nottingham Forest's 2-1 victory at Villa Park. Villa had previously defeated their Midlands rivals in the Europa League semifinals last season en route to capturing their first major trophy in three decades. Questions had been raised regarding the reported 45 million pound club-record fee that Nottingham Forest paid Chelsea for Liam Delap after his struggles to break through at Stamford Bridge. Yet the striker justified the investment by curling a long-range effort into the bottom corner to open the scoring. Alysson restored parity with Villa's first league goal of the campaign, but Igor Jesus ultimately sealed Oliver Glasner's first victory as Forest manager. Crystal Palace endured further misery at the start of the season, suffering a 3-2 home defeat to Ipswich as Zian Flemming struck in stoppage time to secure all three points for the visitors, who had benefited from an earlier red card shown to Axel Disasi.

In other fixtures, Brentford extended their unbeaten run thanks to a brace from Kevin Schade in a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth. Bournemouth, conversely, are still searching for their first Premier League win under Marco Rose despite having led in all four of their matches so far. Tottenham prepared to kick-start their domestic campaign with a home fixture against Everton, while Manchester United prepared to host local rivals Manchester City in the standout fixture of Sunday's schedule.