Chelsea maintain 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 manager not to win in the Premier League opening match. Maurizio Sarri is not outside that tradition of the Stamford Bridge team. Although he has not shown much in terms of playing style, the Italian coach has the most important thing in his first battle in the foggy country: three full points.

The visitors' two decisive goals, scored by N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, were scored 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 home side, but real chances are hard to come by.

Chelsea’s most anticipated name, playmaker Jorginho, failed to show his role 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 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 the ball upfield to 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 a 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, commanded by David Luiz, forgot about Steve Mounie. The Huddersfield striker comfortably headed the ball into Kepa's goalpost.

Mounie felt even more regretful when in the last minute of the first half, the main 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 counter-attacked quickly, then passed the ball to the right wing to Pedro in an empty position. The former Barca player skillfully lobbed the ball into the Huddersfield net.

The 3-0 win 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.