Chelsea eased to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Maurizio Sarri’s first Premier League game.
The match offered new Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri his first taste of competitive English football, while David Wagner’s Huddersfield team were looking to kick the season off with a strong performance at home.
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Both teams looked to be positive from the onset, with the home side in particular surprising a few with their ambitious and attacking play.
Despite the intent shown by both sides, clear cut chances were proving hard to come by in the opening 30 minutes.
The Blues then took the lead on the 34th minute mark. Willian received the ball down the left flank and delivered a dangerous cross to the back post which found the run of N’golo Kante. The French Midfielder miss-hit his volley but it bounced off the turf and looped over Ben Hamer into the Huddersfield net.
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Steve Mounie then came close to levelling the scores for the Terriers just four minutes later. The striker reacting quickest to a flicked-on corner, but his header cannoned off the upright.
Sarri’s men then doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when Marcos Alonso was brought down by Christopher Schindler in the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot.
New Chelsea signing Jorginho stepped up and calmly converted the spot kick to ensure his team went into the break 2-0 up.
Chelsea went close after the restart when an acrobatic attempt from Alonso hit the woodwork on 58 minutes.
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The home side then pushed forward in search of a way back into the game, Chelsea on the other hand looked happy to sit back keep their defensive structures while looking to hit their opposition on the counter.
With time ticking by Chelsea then secured the three points when Pedro rounded off a sweeping counter attack to give his side a 3-0 lead.
Other Premier League results:
Newcastle United 1- 2 Tottenham Hotspur
AFC Bournemouth 1- 0 Cardiff City
Fulham 0- 1 Crystal Palace
Watford 2- 0 Brighton & Hove Albion