Huddersfield Town beat Lyon 3-1 in an encouraging performance at the John Smith’s Stadium. Ben Hamer was the only player to play for all 90 minutes, so I’ve decided to break the player ratings articles into two. This one looks at the players that featured in the first half.
Ben Hamer – 8 out of 10
Looked very good in the first half and kept Town in the game with a couple of excellent saves. Came off his line well when Lyon had broken through our defensive line. His distribution looked good to me too, trying to pick out players rather than just launch it down the field.
Florent Hadergjonaj – 7 out of 10
Was busy up and down the right flank, and linked up well with Diakhaby a couple of times. His crossing was mixed, a couple of loose ones but at least two excellent crosses nearly lead to goals. He picked Kachunga’s late run out once and played the perfect ball into his path but the his teammate couldn’t quite finish off the move.
Jon Stankovic – 6 out of 10
There wasn’t a lot to go on, but he looked slow to me and mistimed a couple of tackles. His positioning also seemed a little out of sync with Schindler, which played Lyon onside when they were bursting forward. There were some positive signs too, so perhaps it’s a bit harsh to dwell on the negatives.
Christopher Schindler – 7 out of 10
Not his best performance, but he stepped out of defence a few times and made good tackles. Lyon had a lot of pace going forward, which led to a few situations where the whole defence was swamped. This was partly a lack of cover from midfield but our back lined lacked organisation at times too.
Chris Löwe – 7 out of 10
Put in a beauty of a cross which Mounié headed down but couldn’t generate enough power to beat the keeper. Otherwise put in plenty of running and overlapped Sohbi when he got chance.
Aaron Mooy – 6 out of 10
Showed some signs of rustiness, but still has an eye for a pass and can dictate play for Town. He’s still building up his fitness after starting preseason late, so I expect we’ll see him get better as we get closer to the start of the season.
Abdelhamid Sabiri – 8 out of 10
Looked very sharp and foraged around well in midfield. The sort of player you’d hate to play against because he was in the opposition’s faces all the time. Showed some class too when he spread the ball out wide from central areas. He looks a lot more effective in this deeper role than he’s played previously, and still looked to get forward and support our attacks.
Ramadan Sohbi – 6 out of 10
There weren’t many chances for him to influence the game, but it didn’t quite come off for him when he was in possession. There was one nice run that I remember where he beat a couple of players, but he wasn’t able to deliver a telling final ball. He looks like he’s got a lot of skill on the ball, but doesn’t have electric pace.
Elias Kachunga – 7 out of 10
I saw some very encouraging signs from Kachunga in the number ten role. He times his runs well and had a couple of good chances to score which he couldn’t quite convert. He supported the wingers by dropping out wide to create an overload, and got into the box to give alternative options to Mounié. He plays this role differently to Pritchard, who has more possession and links play more, but I think Kachunga could add more of a goal threat to the team from this position.
Adama Diakhaby – 8 out of 10
He’s the kind of player that gets you excited when he’s on the ball, his pace is excellent and he looked very lively. Broke up play well, got involved, and had a couple of breakaways that nearly ended up in goals. His decision making once in the box could have been better, but he looks like he could be a real star for Town. It was concerning to see him limp off in the second half, but David Wagner confirmed it was just a knock in the post-match interview.
Steve Mounié – 6 out of 10
I mentioned the good chance he had from a Chris Löwe cross, but otherwise was limited in his opportunities. Never looked much of a threat, but perhaps it was a lack of service that caused it, rather than anything particularly lacking.