Huddersfield 1 Chelsea 3: Antonio Conte's side back to winning ways as they breeze to victory

The Premier League title was all but conceded by Antonio Conte on Saturday and yet three days later, Chelsea played like champions all over again with a demolition of one of the league’s newly-promoted teams and a sign that they are at least able to pick themselves up and continue the pursuit.

It was a victory that was never once in doubt, and beginning with a goal from Tiemoue Bakayoko, one of those at fault against West Ham, they never looked back against a Huddersfield Town who looked frankly overwhelmed from the very start.

Antonio Conte made changes to his side, without the injured Alvaro Morata, and they looked like a team who were responding to a manager who had told them that three defeats to Burnley, Crystal Palace and most recently West Ham was simply not good enough.    

They dominated Huddersfield, although they were allowed to do so, and although they had the run of the pitch, the ruthlessness was impressive when Eden Hazard created the first for Bakayoko and then Willian and Pedro added the second and third. In injury-time at the end of the game there was a fine goal from substitute Laurent Depoitre – it turned out to be the last action of the game – and it was very late for Huddersfield to have their first serious attempt on goal.

By then Conte had replaced Hazard, N’golo Kante and finally Andreas Christensen eventually bringing on the 17-year-old Ethan Ampadu to play at centre-back. Yet even so it had taken that long for Huddersfield to put a decent ball into the area for one of their strikers, first Steve Mounie and then his replacement Depoitre.

Before the victory over Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend, Huddersfield were on a streak of four defeats in a row and they are next back at home for the visits of Stoke and Burnley after Christmas, in a league where fortunes can change very quickly.

It certainly felt like a world away from the day in October that Manchester United were beaten in West Yorkshire, lacking all of the intensity and determination that gets shock results like that. It was a cold and wet night and yet it was never intimidating for the home side who had all the time they needed on the ball and barely put a foot wrong as a consequence.

Their record at home to the traditional big sides has been respectable, the drubbing from Arsenal excepted, yet the Huddersfield approach to taking on the champions was a puzzle from the start: no pressing of any note, and just a nine man wall behind the ball that dropped ever deeper.

It meant that there was no tempo to the home side and no possibility of the home crowd to get behind David Wagner’s players who did not muster a single attempt on target in the first half and barely had a period of possession to speak of. Instead they spent a lot of time nervously watching Chelsea switch play from one side to the other, probing away until a breakthrough was inevitable.

The champions switched their formation and it was bad news for Michy Batshuayi for whom there was no place even without Alvaro Morata in the team. Instead Eden Hazard occupied the centre-forward territory and at the back Conte left out Gary Cahill for Antonio Rudiger, presumably with the defeat to West Ham on Saturday still fresh in his mind.

It was so easy for Chelsea in the first half it was hard to judge how that might have improved the team. They ran the game for the entirety of the 45 minutes and without pressure on their possession broke through on 23 minutes when the Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl slipped over as he cleared the ball and it went in the direction of Victor Moses.

Even from that point there was much to do, with the winger directing a header into Hazard, and the ruthlessness with which Chelsea exploited the space was remarkable. Hazard flicked the ball to Willian, back in the team, and he played in Bakayoko down the left who got the ball over Lossl and in. There was an attempt by Chris Lowe to get the ball out the goalmouth but he could not get his feet right in time and ended up needing treatment himself.

It got little better for Huddersfield, standing off their opponents and letting Cesar Azpilicueta switch the play on 43 minutes to the left where Marcos Alonso was given the time to cross to the back post for WIllian to head in unchallenged. They should have had here by half-time but Lossl blocked Pedro’s shot from Hazard’s ball out to him in the right channel.

Wagner did try to change his side at half-time, bringing on the 35-year-old Dean Whitehead in midfield in what seemed like an attempt to retain possession for longer than they had managed until that point. It was an inauspicious start to the second half for the home side with a third goal within five minutes – yet another cross from Alonso, poorly defended by Christopher Schindler and right into the path of Pedro who buried his chance.

There was eventually a run-out for Batshuayi who came on as a centre-forward in a game that his team were cruising through. At half-time Huddersfield’s on-pitch announcer had offered the opinion that Chelsea’s players “deserved their half-time hot water bottles” and although it was meant in jest, with a reference to last weekend’s attempt to beat the cold, they really might as well have been playing with them.

Finally, at the death, and with Chelsea’s team re-arranged, Depoitre glanced in a header from the cross of his fellow substitute Florent Hadergjonaj, although by then the away team’s thoughts had already turned to home.   

10:22PM

Antonio Conte

"A good win, I think we deserve to win from the start we played good football, create the chance to score.

"I have decided for this solution and it's not the first time to play with this type of players, we played also last season and this season, I think they are very good technically and fast and have good combination play. They play very well today.

"I think he played a really good game, this guy is a young player, a good guy with great potential and I think he's starting to understand what I want about him. Tonight he played a really good game with the ball, without the ball, focused. I like this type of player.

"It is necessary to make rotation, to give a chance to every player to show he deserves to play. Today Willian, Pedro, Bakayoko and also Moses and Rudiger played very well and I like when I have this possibility.

"Transfer window is very far for us. In 20 days we have to play seven days, the most important thing is to be focused."

10:18PM

Premier League players react

Joe Cole

"It's like a boxer trying to see the fight out."

Steven Gerrard

"I get the fact you have to show Chelsea respect, stay compact but you still have be aggressive and make tackles."

10:16PM

David Wagner says

"I think that you have to be on your best in terms of focus and concentration if you want to get anything about one of the top teams, even though we looked solid and stable in defence we were sloppy and then conceded. This is the only thing where we have to be honest to ourselves, we were not at our best. I have no complaints, the players showed character, I think they deserved the last goal they scored. We know exactly where we are and where we come from, we tried it and weren't good enough so well done to Chelsea.

"We only performed, we didn't overperform. This is why we concede this defeat.

"I think for a club like us we have two number nines we are very happy, we can score more and work on more but this doesn't mean we have to be active in the transfer window. 

"I said to the players from my point of view I can accept this defeat, I have no problems with it and we will make sure this does not affect us."

That's a little unambitious for me. Individual mistakes settled the game but it sounds like he never give his side a chance of winning before a ball had even been kicked.

10:02PM

Hazard and Willian post-match

Hazard

Are you out of the title race?

Willian

Hazard butts in:

9:51PM

FULL TIME

Despite that brief moment of excitement, in the end, this match was easy for Chelsea and the win entirely deserved. They kept Huddersfield subdued throughout and though Conte's side were impressive, Wagner's made it easy. They offered mostly nothing to the game.

9:50PM

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL!

HUDDERSFIELD HAVE SCORED! ALERT THE COASTGUARD!

It's a great cross but Depoitre does superbly to steal ahead of Rudiger to power his header beyond the reach of Courtois!

9:47PM

90 mins +2

Great save Courtois! The ball comes off Ampadu's head and the goalkeeper has to react to turn that away. 

9:47PM

90 mins +1

A Huddersfield shot! Rejoice! The ball sits nicely for Williams, he has time and lines up a long range effort.. but drags the ball wide, hits his own player and gives away a goal kick. Not good enough.

9:45PM

90 mins

Batshuayi comes to life in the penalty area - that's where he knows what's going on! He controls a cross from the right, shows quick feet to create space and allow a shot past the goalkeeper at a narrow angle and it's heading into the back of the net... but the referee blows his whistle for handball. It came off Batshuayi's hand, replays show.

9:42PM

87 mins

Ampadu is playing as the central defender of the three and has spread some really nice passes out to wide areas. He takes a touch, looks up and spots Moses running down the right wing and chips a 40/50 yard pass which lands at his feet.

9:40PM

84 mins

Batshuayi has been caught miles offside twice since coming on, displaying his regrettable tendency to appear unaware of his surroundings.

9:36PM

81 mins

 Christensen comes off for Ethan Ampadu, a Welsh 17-year-old midfielder. He's dropped into central defence.

9:34PM

79 mins

Chelsea are passing the ball around wonderfully, hitting first time passes and moving on to receive the return. The thing is, they're finding the space to play these one-twos so easy to gain that they're able to experiment with flicks and have an extra few miliseconds to pick their next move.

9:31PM

76 mins

That's an improvement! And you'll be pleased to know that Huddersfield now have a forward player with an average position in front of the halfway line. 

9:30PM

75 mins

And the thing is, when Huddersfield do attack quickly, they look dangerous. Ish. They have pace in wide areas, Mooy is a good runner with the ball through the middle and they're keeping Chelsea subdued by pressing them higher now.

Depoitre comes on for Mounie and Chelsea are on the attack straight away. Willian delays his pass to Alonso, forcing play out wide and then the Spaniard's cross is blocked.

9:28PM

72 mins

N'Golo Kante comes off for Danny Drinkwater. Someone is banging a drum in the Huddersfield crowd, setting a tempo the team cannot dance to because they can't get on the ball.

9:25PM

69 mins

Ince hits a shot from 20 yards but gets it all wrong.

Chris Lowe goes off for Hadergjonaj. 

Chelsea attack at speed but Pedro gets underneath his shot, leaning back, and chips it way into the stand.

Huddersfield have switched to a back three but another mistake gets Bakayoko away down the left, he curls an early cross into Hazard, who flicks it (again) to Pedro, who shoots wide (again).

And that's the end of Hazard's night. Batshuayi is on.

9:21PM

66 mins

This is much better from Huddersfield. They're attacking (finally!) down the channels and are able to link a few passes together as Chelsea are forced backwards. It's still too static though and midfielders are quickly running out of passing options, having to then go back to the defenders.

9:19PM

63 mins

Hazard has room in the box! He dummies the defender, wins some space and then shoots low at the goal from a narrow angle, winning a corner. So close. 

Huddersfield clear their lines after Bakayoko nearly gets a header at goal... and Chelsea win it back. Willian turns on the Brazilian flair with a flip-flap which draws a gasp from the watching crowd and then suddenly the home team can actually get forward at speed.

Ince goes behind Azpilicueta, momentum carrying him beyond the tackle.. and he might score here! One on one... saved! Great chance. Huddersfield have started pushing forward and it's working.

Zanka tries a long range effort from 35 yards... and it fizzes over the bar! Courtois looked beaten there and it wasn't far away!

9:16PM

60 mins

Hazard keeps doing these deceiving backheel flicks and it's tearing holes in the centre of Huddersfield's defence. he's just done it again, sending Willian away and then racing forwards to try and get the reverse pass which doesn't come. Chelsea still with time and space to pass the ball around, nobody ever really being put under too much pressure - Huddersfield are still deep behind the ball and being slowly carved apart.

9:12PM

57 mins

Here's a photo of Bakayoko's finish (or is it assist?) for Chelsea's opener.

The crowd are beginning to turn on their players a wee bit - they want more! That said, the majority are still making a lot of noise singing the team on. There's a touch more urgency about Huddersfield's pressing now too and they've come out of their deep defensive shape, pushing higher up the pitch.

Well, they did for about 20 seconds, they're now all back in the final third, except Mounie, who is a passenger. 

9:10PM

54 mins

Kachunga gets the ball, some midfielders consider moving up the pitch, don't, Kachunga has to go backwards, can't make up his mind and wins a free-kick in his own half.

It's like Huddersfield know they can't win and just want this to be over with. Chelsea can be had. 

Zanka should be booked for a foul on Hazard but gets away with it.

9:08PM

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAL!

It's three. So much time and space. Alonso has it, curls in a cross and Pedro has ages to line up his finish and buries the ball.

Robbie Savage seems to share my sentiments. If they're going to sit back and defend, they need to do so with a lot more bite than this. 

9:05PM

48 mins

Chelsea in control of the second half already. Nothing has changed. It's big task for Huddersfield to beat Chelsea but imagine you'd paid £30,£40,£50 (and the rest!) a ticket and had to watch your team defend near their own box the entire time without ambition. 

9:04PM

KICK-OFF 2

We're back!

8:51PM

The stats

Completely boxed in.

Chelsea have played really well here but there's energy and tenacity in this Huddersfield team. A more dynamic approach to the second half should at least help balance the match though with the score as it is, Chelsea can relax a little and try to exploit gaps left by Huddersfield searching for a way back into it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. 

8:47PM

HALF TIME

Deserved lead for Chelsea, who are in complete control without having to really try. Is it a change of shape? A change of approach? Huddersfield might as well try something.

8:46PM

45 mins

And it's very nearly three! Pedro should really score but doesn't get enough height on his shot and actually, it's a great save by Lossl. 

8:44PM

GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!

Azpilicueta switches play with a long ball to the left wing, the cross comes in and Willian wins a header to make it two.

Huddersfield might as well have not bothered turning up for this. It's not that they look out of their depth, and Chelsea have been good, it's just that Huddersfield have not done anything in the way of attacking, or keeping the ball, or pressing... and Chelsea are easily able to score their second.

8:42PM

42 mins

Controversy! The replay of that goal shows that it may well be Lowe's own goal rather than Bakayoko. The Frenchman's chipped finish looked to be heading wide of the far post until the Huddersfield man inadvertently turned it into his own net.

8:40PM

41 mins

Huddersfield threaten to cause a bit of trouble in Chelsea's box! Kachunga tries a clever pass into the channel, the ball drops to Ince 25 yards out and he has time to line up the shot. "SHOOOOOT!" yells the crowd but he pokes it wide left inside and the player overlapping loses out. Chelsea move up the pitch and win a free-kick wide right.

JUST WIDE! Bakayoko beats his man to the header but can only direct it wide of the far post. Decent attempt.

8:37PM

38 mins

Willian sends a free-kick in from wide left, it strikes a bunch of bodies at the near post and Kante blasts the rebound wildly over the bar.

I need Darren Fletcher to stop calling them 'Jake and the Boys'. It makes me wince every time he says it. I'm doing it now just thinking about him saying it again. Please. Please stop.

8:35PM

35 mins

On replay, Hazard's deft backheel flick to set up Willian for Chelsea's goal is unbelievably cool. He's been superb in recent weeks, and with confidence he tends to try little bits of skill that make him look even better.

Alonso strides forward and for moment it looks like he has three options to aim a cross at in the penalty area... but the defender comes across and blocks. Chelsea build from the back again, switching wings and probing for weakness.

8:31PM

32 mins

Every time Huddersfield win the ball near their own box they knock it long and Mounie can't do anything with it. He's completely isolated and nothing's changed since kick-off - he'll be exhausted, if not bored to death, by half time. 

The absolute state of this:

This isn't an amateur, non-league team against Chelsea. It's the 12th placed Premier League side.  

8:28PM

29 mins

Chelsea not finding this difficult at all. Hazard and Willian combine in the final third with some lovely first-time back heel flicks to send Hazard away in behind the defence but the defence deals with it and puts the ball out of play. Chelsea keep coming at them, like a football wolf.

8:25PM

26 mins

And the thing is, Huddersfield earned promotion by playing forward thinking football, attacking, pressing, counter-attacking quickly - this is nothing but an attempt but to imagine time doesn't exist for 90 minutes. Sure, Chelsea have much better players but they are literally in the same league. Have a go! How will they respond?

8:24PM

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!

And there it is! Truly, that was inevitable.

The goalkeeper's kick is poor, Chelsea win it back inside the Huddersfield half and Bakayoko is played in with a through-pass, chipping over Lossl.

8:23PM

22 mins

Huddersfield really haven't come here to play football. They have no out-ball and Chelsea are absorbing every long pass they make - it's surely unsustainable for an entire match and you think that at some point they'll open up a bit. Probably after conceding the first goal, judging by this game so far. 

8:18PM

19 mins

A CORNER! HUDDERSFIELD HAVE A CORNER! Kachunga sends a cross in from the right and Moses shields it behind. The ball is headed by a Chelsea defender, put back in the area... and Mounie is offside.

8:15PM

16 mins

Lossl flaps a cross forward and Huddersfield try to break, winning a throw-in near the half way line. Christensen is alert to a through-ball into the forwards and passes back to Courtois, who boots it up the pitch. 

Azpilicueta crosses early to Willian, who tries to chest the ball and turn his marker but can't. Alonso overlaps and gets a chipped pass to feet, Willian tries to force a shot, Moses is blocked on the right and Chelsea win the ball back as Huddersfield are unable to to get out of their own half.

8:12PM

13 mins

8:11PM

12 mins

Huddersfield finally get hold of the ball and move up the pitch! Mooy tries to smash a volley from 20 yards but is blocked and Chelsea mop up the danger.

8:09PM

9 mins

I think Huddersfield have touched the ball twice in the Chelsea half so far. Alonso and Moses are hugging the touchlines to stretch play and allow space for the front three. Huddersfield win a tackle at the halfway line and immediately lose the ball.

This should give an idea of how one-sided the game is in the opening 10 minutes:

8:06PM

6 mins

Hazard is in... but looks offside. He tries to control the pass and crowd falls awfully silent, as though they can't believe he's onside... but he is... and his touch just isn't quite good enough, dropping into the goalkeeper's hands. 

And Pedro has scored, but is offside. The opening goal is coming - the front three of Chelsea are at it here.

8:03PM

3 mins

Pedro gets in behind the defence early on but he's about 20 miles offside. Chelsea already dominating possession as Huddersfield sit back in numbers inviting them onwards. They're poised to spring but Chelsea are moving the ball around nicely.

8:00PM

KICK-OFF

And they're off. Chelsea get us started.

7:57PM

Here come the players

It's raining in Huddersfield but the fans are making a lot of noise. Can they pull off a shock result tonight?

7:49PM

Tom Ince

Still hasn't scored or assisted in the Premier League for Huddersfield yet and is the focus of the local paper's back page. "He just needs to relax a bit and it'll come," says Gerrard as Cole points out that Huddersfield's low block, rigid counter-attack is well suited to churning out points but doesn't allow free-flowing attacking football - the style of play that would really suit Tom Ince, for example.

7:35PM

Huddersfield giving the real Behind the Scenes

I love the access that fans have to wee videos like this nowadays, even if you have to access them on Twitter. Life is happier without it.  

7:31PM

Hazard magic

With Chelsea going without a recognised central striker, that clears the way for Eden Hazard to terrorise Huddersfield in that withdrawn, half-10, half-9 position that is starting to become popular in the Premier League. Liverpool do it with Firmino and Salah, Man City often do it with Sterling, Jesus and Sane swapping positions. Pedro, Willian and Hazard will switch positions all the way through tonight - the Huddersfield defence will be busy.

7:27PM

Joe Cole!

That's where he's been! Joe Cole, ex-Chelsea midfielder, is in the BT Sport studio tonight alongside Steven Gerrard, who thinks Antonio Conte will be extremely disappointed after Chelsea's weekend defeat to West Ham.

"He'll be after a response, a reaction tonight," says Gerrard.

Cole has suggested that Chelsea will focus play through the middle of attack tonight, which explains Batshuayi's absence (even if it now seems certain Conte wouldn't trust him to lead the line unless out of other options).

7:03PM

Starting lineups

Huddersfield

Chelsea

Courtois; Azpilicueta (c), Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso; Willian, Hazard, Pedro

Subs: Caballero, Cahill, Ampadu, Drinkwater, Fabregas, Musonda, Batshuayi

6:57PM

Chelsea's social media person getting excited

4:58PM

Hello!

Good evening and welcome to our liveblog for Chelsea's visit to Huddersfield on a cold Tuesday night.

The fun never stops for Premier League footballers come wind, rain or lots of snow and you can follow all the action from the warmth of your home while professional athletes endure freezing conditions to provide entertainment, in the quest for points.

Antonio Conte will provide some heat for his team, no doubt fired up by Chelsea's shock defeat to lowly West Ham on the weekend. They are without bringer of goals (frankincense and myrrh), Alvaro Morata, who has a back injury and can't play. It's expected that Conte will make more changes though in a bid to freshen up the squad and ensure they don't drop any more points in their race for a top four position. 

Michy Batshuayi could be handed a start due to Morata's injury but his performances and Conte's apparent lack of trust in the striker might lead to a frontline of Eden Hazard and Willian, with Pedro possibly thrown in for good measure.

Huddersfield top scorer Steve Mounie will be lurking around the penalty area trying to make sure David Wagner's side maximise opportunities in a game they know will be tough.

Wagner said, "I would take an ugly set-piece goal if it settles the match in our favour. I will take everything against a team like Chelsea. We have to be on a top performance. We cannot give one easy chance away.

"We have to avoid unforced errors and have to be at our top level and then we will see how this team works. It's a little bit like a cup tie.

Antonio Conte, Chelsea manager:

When we lose I'm not happy, in 16 games we lost four games. My experience tells (me) it's impossible to win the title.

Now we must be focused in the league to go game by game, to do our best. This league is not simple. We have to fight to find a place in the Champions League.

(But) we must be very realistic to understand that this league is very dangerous. We have to go game by game, play every game with 120 per cent of our strength, otherwise we risk to have a bad surprise at the end of the season.