Chelsea retain top spot in Premier League after big win

Goals: Kante 34', Jorginho (penalty) 45', Pedro 80'

Since the 2004-2005 season, when Jose Mourinho led Chelsea, only Andre Villas-Boas was the first coach who failed to win in his opening Premier League match. Maurizio Sarri is no exception to that tradition at Stamford Bridge. Although he has not shown much in terms of playing style, the Italian coach has achieved the most important thing in his first match in the foggy country, which is three full points.

The visitors scored two decisive goals, by N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, in the first half. In the final minutes of the match, Eden Hazard proved his class as a top star with a precise dribble and pass for Pedro to seal the score.

Chelsea got three points but Sarri's machine was not working smoothly, especially in the first two-thirds of the first half.Jorginho, Ross Barkley and N'Golo Kante have tried to instill the Sarri-ball philosophy throughout pre-season and during the trip to Huddersfield. However, it all boils down to possession statistics. The visitors have more than twice as much possession as the hosts, but there are no real chances.

Chelsea’s most anticipated player, playmaker Jorginho, failed to make an impact in the first 30 minutes of the match. He was constantly pressed by the home team’s two strikers, suffocating the space to receive the ball. Before the visitors found the back of the net, Jorginho had only more touches than goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and striker Alvaro Morata.

However, the former Napoli player still managed to leave his mark on Chelsea's opening goal. Starting from a counter-attack situation, Jorginho was there at the right time, passing one touch upfield for Pedro to pick up the pace. The ball was deployed to the left wing, before Willian crossed into the penalty area for Kante to finish with one touch. The ball bounced off the ground and flew into the far corner.

The 2018 World Cup winner's goal put Chelsea's spirits up. However, they suffered a heart-stopping moment just four minutes later. The defence, led by David Luiz, forgot about Steve Mounie. The Huddersfield striker comfortably headed the ball into Kepa's goalpost.

Mounie felt even more regretful when at the end of the first half, the refereeChris Kavanagh awarded Chelsea a penalty when Marcos Alonso was fouled in the box. From the 11-meter mark, Jorginho took a clever penalty kick, fooling the Huddersfield goalkeeper to make it 2-0.

The two-goal lead allowed Chelsea to play leisurely in the second half. The match turned into a training session, with Huddersfield as the blue team, for CesarAzpilicueta and his teammates tested "Sarri-ball". AfterAlonso hit the crossbar in the 58th minute, and the visitors scored the decisive goal in the 80th minute. Substitute Eden Hazard dribbled the ball at speed, then passed it to the right wing to Pedro in an open position. The former Barca player skillfully lobbed the ball into the Huddersfield net.

The 3-0 victory helped Chelsea temporarily maintain the top spot in the Premier League. They have the same three points as rivals Tottenham and Man Utd but are above them thanks to a better goal difference.

Line-up

Huddersfield:Hamer, Hadergjonaj, Zanka, Schindler, Kongolo, Lowe (Diakhaby 71'), Hogg, Mooy, Billing, Pritchard (Depoitre 46'), Mounie.

Chelsea:Kepa, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Barkley (Loftus-Cheek 68'), Willian (Hazard 76'), Pedro (Moses 81'), Morata.