Huddersfield Town were unlucky to only draw 1-1 with Leicester after they dominated long spells of the match. Leicester were unusually quiet and their best players struggled to make an impact on the game. While Town might have been unlucky to only come away with the point, there were smiles all round at the end.
Town have once again played an established Premier League team and looked completely comfortable. The performance was more important than the result in my opinion, after a poor showing against West Ham earlier in the week.
Jonas Lössl – 7 out if 10
The Danish keeper had very little to do all afternoon, (apart from fetching the ball out of the net after Vardy’s penalty) which shows how well Town played. His distribution was very good as usual, though he played a few balls out that might have been a bit too ambitious. There was also one moment where he came for a cross and made a mess of it. Otherwise, he looked commanding.
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Chris Löwe – 6 out of 10
It was telling that Löwe stormed down the tunnel at full-time, he clearly wasn’t happy with how he’d played. Mahrez turned him inside out in the opening minutes but Löwe managed to keep him quiet for the rest of the game. He also lunged in needlessly to concede the penalty, which showed poor judgement as well as execution.
I wouldn’t say he played terribly otherwise, but he wasn’t at his best. He missed a few tackles and his crosses were either blocked or off target.
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Christopher Schindler – 8 out of 10
Another superb game. His value goes up another couple of million with every game the way he’s currently playing. He never looked ruffled by Vardy’s closing down and made some vital tackles.
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Zanka – 6 out of 10
The big Dane’s distribution continues to be a bit shonky. I noticed he was complaining a lot about his teammates’ position and movements, but from where I sat he was at fault for his misplaced passes. He also seemed to struggle at times defensively, looking a little bit nervy when going up against Leicester’s attackers. He was lucky to avoid having a penalty awarded against him late in the game when he got too handsy with Gray in the box.
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Tommy Smith – 7 out of 10
Smith had a solid game at right back. Leicester struggled to get any joy out of Town’s right flank and Smith got into good positions when he got forward. The link-up play between Smith and Kachunga was back, leading to some good chances coming from the pair.
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Aaron Mooy – 9 out of 10
I absolutely love watching Aaron Mooy playing for Town, and today was a classic performance from him. There were times when he was absolutely running the game. It looks like he sees everything happen in slow motion – he’s always got time on the ball and picks out perfect passes. When Mooy plays well, Town play well, and today he played very well.
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Danny Williams 8 out of 10
We looked a lot more solid in the middle with Williams replacing Billing. He did a lot of the tidying up work at the back, helping Town to win back possession and picking up loose balls. There’s an energy to his game too, with him bursting forward with the ball and starting off attacks. Town have four excellent central midfielders to fit into two positions now, giving Wagner the best kind of problem.
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Tom Ince 8 out of 10
I feel sorry for Ince because he’s still not scored a competitive goal for Town but has come very close in every game he’s played. He came very close with a shot that just went outside Kasper Schmeichel’s far post. Ince had a very good game, even without scoring. He ran tirelessly, tracked back, and was a regular outlet when we broke forward. He’s going to get goals for Town, I just hope he keeps his confidence up while he waits.
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Elias Kachunga 8 out of 10
The best performance of the season for Kachunga today. He played with freedom and confidence, running Chilwell ragged and winning the ball back high up the field. There was more trickery on display today from Kachunga and he looked much more threatening. It was great to see him back on top form.
At the time of writing I’ve not seen a replay of it, but apparently, Kachunga’s disallowed goal should have stood, so he can count himself unlucky to have not been awarded his first Premier League goal.
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Hamid Sabiri – 7 out of 10
Sabiri started fairly slowly, not getting all that involved in the early stages. He grew into the game and in the second-half, he played some excellent balls forward and helped to start off attacks. I was also surprised by how much he won in the air, a useful additional skill.
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Laurent Depoitre – 8 out of 10
Depoitre is an absolute beast of a player. His goal was a perfect example of how strong he is, but also showed that he’s capable of delicacy with the ball too. He only needed half a yard in front of Maguire to be able to fend him off and then stroked the ball into the far corner. His performance means that Wagner has another selection headache when Mounié is fit again.
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Collin Quaner – 7 out of 10
Super Collin Quaner didn’t get a lot of chance to influence the game but he did get on the ball and move it up the field. His tenacity is a real asset to have on the bench, as he helps keep the energy and pressing up when he comes on late.
Rajiv van La Parra – N/A
I’m not sure he even touched the ball, but he’ll have got his appearance bonus if such things still exist in players’ contracts.
Jonathan Hogg – N/A
It was wonderful to see Hogg back on the pitch again for Town. He made a few tackles and helped mop up in the closing minutes of the game. Hopefully, he’ll get a good runout against Palace in the cup next week and be pushing for inclusion against Burnley next weekend.
Two points dropped, a point – people call it how they want to see it, but a draw that I’m happy with. The standard of officiating brings the game into disrepute – it’s inconsistent and at this level it’s shocking, but video replays are absent from the game and until their introduction we will vent anger at the referees. Kachunga was onside and it should not have been chalked off. But again, referees have a task on their hands to make a decision in the snap of a finger. They are human and are prone to not being perfect decision makers.
We got back to being competitive – it was just a blip at West Ham. A reaction is key and we got it in one game, not in two or three games’ time. It’s best to react quickly after defeat. We were dominant against a team once champions of England and Depoitre, what a machine! I wasn’t sure on him, but he can do it for us when called upon. I am very optimistic of progression in the cup against Palace, who even at this stage look in big trouble plus I’m in buoyant mood for Burnley who are in the bracket of sides we should be claiming points off.