Mourinho makes winning Chelsea comeback
Sunday, August 18, 2013
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José Mourinho returned to the Chelsea FC dugout by steering his side to a 2-0 victory against Hull City AFC after Tottenham Hotspur FC edged out Crystal Palace FC 1-0.
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José Mourinho marked the start of his second spell in charge of Chelsea FC with a 2-0 defeat of newly promoted Hull City AFC after Roberto Soldado's debut goal proved sufficient for Tottenham Hotspur FC to see off Crystal Palace FC.
Mourinho, back in the Stamford Bridge dugout for the first time since 2007, watched on as visiting goalkeeper Allan McGregor upended Fernando Torres in the area after six minutes. Frank Lampard spurned the resulting spot kick, but his blushes were spared when Oscar combined neatly with Kevin De Bruyne and prodded in.
Lampard rediscovered his set-piece prowess a quarter of an hour in by sending a venomous 30-metre free-kick swerving beyond the fingertips of McGregor. Steve Bruce's charges found their feet after the break and came closest to scoring when Petr Čech held Curtis Davies' towering header.
In Sunday's early kick-off, Tottenham were made to work hard by London rivals Crystal Palace, back in the top flight following an eight-year absence. The breakthrough arrived at Selhurst Park five minutes after the break when Dean Moxey handled Aaron Lennon's cross in the area and Soldado – a club-record €30m summer purchase from Valenica CF – tucked in the penalty.