Blues 2-0 up v Huddersfield at HALF-TIME – N’Golo Kante and Jorginho the heroes
BY PAUL LAGAN
Chelsea are 2-0 half-time up at Huddersfield Town as N’Golo Kante and a penalty on the whistle by Jorginho gave Maurizio Sarri the perfect start to the new Premier League season. But it wasn’t a true reflection of the opening 45 minutes. Huddersfield can count themselves unlucky.
Morata had the first chance of the game on four minutes. But slid the ball wide of Ben Hamer’s goal after excellent set up play by Pedro.
He did not realise he was in fact inches offside, which perfectly summed up most of this calendar year in front of goal for the Spain striker.
prolonged pressure by the Blues where more than 40 passes were involved ended inauspiciously with Marcos Alonso thumping the ball in to the Huddersfield penalty area, where they was no on e to received it, other than Hamer.
But whenever Chelsea lose the ball, the home side are on it and pushing to get forward.
A pinging effort from Steve Mounie on 26 minutes inched over new boy Kepa Arrizabalaga as Chelsea suffered at the back from the pressure heaped upon them.
Against the run of play the Londoners took the lead on 34 minutes. A simple left win cross by Willian was a met by N’Golo Kante, who to be fair, miss kicked the ball into the ground and the ball sidled past Hamer in to his right side-netting.
Huddersfield were desperately unluckily not to equalise four minutes later when, from a corner Mounie smashed a powerful unchallenged header against Kepa’ s right post. The ball zipped across the Chelsea goal but was cleared.
Right on 45 minutes, after a brilliant sequence of passing involving Pedro in particular, Alonso raced into the penalty area and was taken down as he was about to shoot.
Up stepped Brazilian Jorginho with a sensational spot kick which was a simple run up, a little skip just before he slotted home a slow, low ball into the left hand corner of Hamer’s net, with the keep rooted to the middle of the goal.