Huddersfield Town suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 3-0 at home to Chelsea. Town were somewhat unlucky to go in at half-time two goals down, but struggled to get into the game in the second half and didn’t do enough to deserve anything from the game.
Despite the scoreline, it wasn’t that bad a performance. You could argue long into the night about the right tactical approach Town should take in these games, but I think we’re always likely to lose against top six teams, regardless of the system. Chelsea punished Town on the few occasions they opened us up, and we couldn’t finish our chances.
It’s important not to draw too much into this result or performance. We’ll have better days than today this season, we just need to learn from the experience and move on.
Here’s my ratings for each of the players….
Hamer – 5 out of 10
His distribution was loose, putting the ball straight out too often. He could have done better for the first goal too, when Kante’s scuffed shot bobbled over his head. It will be interesting to see who Wagner picks in goals for the Man City game, as Lössl will feel aggrieved to have lost his place in the team.
Kongolo – 7 out of 10
Looked solid and made a last-ditch tackle in the first half that was perfectly timed and stopped an almost certain goal. He looks solid and mobile, just like he did last season.
Schindler – 6 out of 10
At fault for the penalty, but was unlucky to not make contact with ball with his lunging tackle and caught Alonso’s foot instead. Otherwise looked solid, and kept close to Morata. He also made some excellent diagonal passes to find the wingbacks in space.
Zanka – 6 out of 10
Didn’t do a lot wrong, but was a bit slow to get back into position on a few occasions.
Löwe – 7 out of 10
Put some great balls into the box and looked a threat when he was able to get forward. Did a lot of running up and down the wings, even if it didn’t often lead to creating clear cut chances.
Hadergjonaj – 5 out of 10
He had a tough task in trying to contain Willian, and found it hard when caught one on one. There were a few occasions where he was sloppy in possession too. Not his best performances for Town, but I’ve no doubt he’ll bounce back from this game and be better next time.
Hogg – 7 out of 10
Did his usual job of ratting around in front of the defence. Sprayed balls out to the wings very nicely at times too, which I’d like to see him do more of. He has a tendency to play straightforward sideways balls, but today he showed he has the ability to pick players out in more advanced positions with his long-range passing.
Mooy – 5 out of 10
I really don’t understand how he’s able to play perfect passes over fifty or sixty yards in open play but his set pieces are incredibly inconsistent. It doesn’t make sense, because it should be easier to hit the ball when it’s still rather than moving, but his set piece delivery wasn’t good today and meant we didn’t make the most of the few opportunities we had to deliver balls into the box.
There were a few times when Mooy jumped into tackles which left the defence exposed. It’s good that he’s enthusiastic and trying to win the ball back, but his timing wasn’t quite right today.
Billing – 6 out of 10
Could have been closer to Kante for the opening goal, but let him get past him. He made some good runs forward and could have created chances with a bit more luck. His long throws are an asset in this kind of game, as we were struggling to get into the opposition penalty area any other way.
Pritchard – 7 out of 10
A bit unlucky to be subbed at half time as he was lively and was regularly finding space in the box. His touch let him down on a couple of occasions, otherwise he might have been able to create more.
Mounié – 6 out of 10
Very nearly equalised for Town straight after Chelsea’s opener, but his header crashed against the woodwork. There were few other opportunities provided for him and Depoitre’s introduction in the second half meant he had to adjust to accommodate another striker.
Depoitre – 5 out of 10
Came on in the second half in place of Pritchard and didn’t make enough of a difference. Had an opportunity late on, but his header was tame. It never seems to work when Depoitre plays alongside Mounié, and this game was another example of that.
Diakhaby – N/A
Barely touched the ball and didn’t get any opportunities to run at the Chelsea defence.
Spot on.