Huddersfield Town 0-3 Chelsea
Football season in England is off to a great start after a string of impressive results from the first several games of the Premier League. Manchester United and Leicester opened with a brilliant game of football, and the games that followed it also gave fans a brand of energetic football that hasn’t been seen in the league for years.
Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea provided more of the same with their first victory to the opening campaign. The Stamford Bridge faithful were nervous with how the team will fare in the opener, but the Italian quickly pushed the doubt away with the kind of football his players showed.
They may not have the flashiness of other football clubs, but they definitely played effective possession football.
Highlights of the game
Maurizio Sarri decided to not field Eden Hazard in their Premier League opener, opting to keep him on the bench and maybe put him in the second half. While this knowledge is a huge relief for many Huddersfield fans, they cannot deny the fact that the roster is still loaded with first-class talent from the goalkeeper to the forwards.
The early minutes of the game were quiet and tame if we compare this game to the Man United-Leicester game that was chock-full of Premier League 2018 highlights.
Huddersfield threatened the Blues with their high pressing in an uncomfortably crowded midfield, but Kepa Arrizabalaga and the rest of the Chelsea defence are going a fantastic job in stopping them. Meanwhile, Chelsea have a difficult time breaking the Terriers’ defence as they have at least seven players ready to absorb the blows of a powerful opponent.
It took nineteen minutes before either side managed to challenge either keeper. Huddersfield struggled to break through Chelsea’s defence, but Alex Pritchard saw a small opening after receiving a long pass from the left. He fired it straight to Kepa’s face, and the world’s most expensive goalkeeper coolly caught the ball.
Huddersfield are slowly finding their stride. They are firing dangerous crosses from all over the pitch and constantly battling for the ball at Chelsea’s half of the pitch. However, David Luiz refuses to make anything easy. The tight defence doesn’t mean that Huddersfield will just lie down and take it: Steve Mounie made a beautiful long-range strike that narrowly missed on the 26th minute.
Meanwhile, Willian is leading the charge for the Blues offensively. He is making some daring runs after long 50/50 balls, but there are at least two Huddersfield shirts surrounding him whenever he makes a run for the ball.
The Blues eventually found their first goal in the 34th minute, but it seemed like the goal came out of nowhere. Willian made a run from the left, distracting most of the Huddersfield defence with his breakthrough power. He then made a long cross to N’Golo Kante on the right. The World Cup winner showed off his ability by volleying the ball past Hamer.
Kante’s goal gives Chelsea a much-needed buffer, but Huddersfield weren’t going to easily cede things for them. Mounie almost equalised five minutes after the Frenchman’s goal when he soared over the defence and headed a point-blank shot that was unjustly denied by the post.
Chelsea then doubled their lead before half-time ended. Marcos Alonso won a penalty for the Blues, but Huddersfield supporters will definitely call the foul as a dive. Jorginho then made his first Premier League goal with a calculated spot kick to end the half.
The second half opened with Chelsea completely dominating possession. What attacking prowess the Terriers had in the first half was left in the locker room as they struggle to get the football and threaten in the final third.
Antonio Rudiger almost tripled Chelsea’s lead with another brilliant header that is reminiscent of his goal against Arsenal in the ICC. However, Hamer stopped him from making it three. Marcos Alonso also had a superb attempt at goal with a bicycle kick, but the crossbar denied him of a memorable goal.
Philip Billing finally gave Chelsea their first challenge in the second half with a shot from a promising position to head the ball into the goal. The ball went over the bar and didn’t challenge Kepa at all. Huddersfield then connected several attacks that tested the Chelsea back four.
However, Eden Hazard finally graced the field in the 78th minute. Even if Huddersfield were to score here, there is no way that Hazard will not be able to get even and get a goal for the Blues as well.
Pedro made the game an unquestionable blowout by scoring Chelsea’s third goal. A quick counter caught the attacking Huddersfield off guard. Hazard made a good through pass to the Spaniard on the right, and he pushed the ball past an out-of-position Hamer and into the back of the net.
The Terriers tried everything they can to at least get a consolation goal, and Alvaro Morata tried to add one more to their goal tally. However, that would be all she wrote as the game ended in a big first win for Sarri the Blues.
Key statistics
The Blues had more time with the ball, showing everyone that Sarri’s tactics work in the Premier League. While the Italian is under no illusion that the team will perform like this throughout the season, the Blues’ 63% possession is an encouraging sign.
Moreover, the game was more or less fought in the midfield. While Chelsea had 12 shot attempts, only four of them actually went on target. Meanwhile, Huddersfield’s accuracy at goal was worse: they were only able to get one shot on target while four of their six attempts were far from making the goal.
Chelsea’s midfield was especially effective. They were able to complete 88% of their pass attempts and overrun Huddersfield despite being dispossessed 21 times and losing out on the aerial duels.
What’s next?
The Premier League 2018 odds should be favouring Chelsea a bit more after such a dominant win. Chelsea will be moving back south to London to host a tough London Derby against Arsenal. They will be looking to avenge their close loss to the Gunners in the ICC.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield’s 2018/19 season is about to get harder: their next opponent is Premier League champions and SBOBET favourites Manchester City. The more difficult part of this is the fact that they will have to play the Citizens at their home court.
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