Huddersfield get a corner which will surely be the last action of the match, but Barkley heads the set-piece away.
90' +2
Alonso goes down after a brief tussle with Mooy, who managed to catch the Spaniard’s face with an inadvertent elbow. The left-back eventually gets back up, and no further action will be taken.
90' +1
Hudson-Odoi almost bags himself a goal after some impressive work in getting himself in the Huddersfield box, but the substitute’s curling effort blazes wide of Lossl’s goal.
86'
David Luiz has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by Willian.
Willian gets himself an assist credit for a well-taken corner that manages to find his fellow Brazilian with ease.
GOOOAAALLL!!! DAVID LUIZ MAKES IT 5-0!! A routine Willian corner finds a David Luiz in the Huddersfield box, and he is able to get a powerful header in on goal that Lossl is unable to get a firm hand on following a wicked deflection off Kachunga!
84'
A. Pritchard enters the game and replaces A. Diakhaby.
Diakhaby, who was the visitors’ brightest attacking outlet before fading in the second half, comes off to be replaced by Pritchard.
83'
R. Loftus-Cheek enters the game and replaces N. Kanté.
Kante comes off for Loftus-Cheek in Sarri’s final substitution of the match.
77'
C. Hudson-Odoi enters the game and replaces E. Hazard.
Hazard is denied the chance to get a hat-trick, but earns himself a deserved standing ovation from the Stamford Bridge faithful as he comes off to be replaced by Hudson-Odoi.
73'
Kovacic almost makes an instant impact, getting in on the end of a low Willian corner, but his effort is blocked by Lowe for another set-piece opportunity.
71'
The electric Hazard torments the Terriers’ backline once again, running at them with intent. However, his cut-back is intercepted by Schindler, and Huddersfield hurriedly clear the ball away.
Minute
Description
70'
M. Kovačić enters the game and replaces Jorginho.
Kovacic comes on for Jorginho in Sarri's first change of the match.
69'
G. Higuaín has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by N. Kanté.
Kante and Hazard combine well to release Higuain, the former providing the final pass which allowed the Argentina striker to score his second Chelsea goal in three matches.
GOOOOAAALLLL!! HIGUAIN MAKES IT 4-0 TO CHELSEA!! Hazard cuts inside and feeds the ball to Kante, who passes it first-time to an unmarked Higuain who curls in a splendid effort that Lossl simply had no chance of stopping!
67'
K. Ahearne-Grant enters the game and replaces P. Billing.
Grant makes his Huddersfield debut, coming on for Billing in Siewert’s second substitution of the match.
66'
E. Hazard has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by R. Barkley.
Barkley caps off a good display at the heart of the midfield with a deserved assist, showing great awareness in finding Hazard in the box.
GOOOAAALLLL!!! IT’S A BRACE FOR HAZARD!! Not long after Barkley’s chance, the midfielder plays the Belgian in with a quick pass towards the box, and Hazard leaves the Huddersfield defence trailing before rounding Lossl and slotting the ball inside an empty net! It’s now 3-0 to Chelsea, and they are running rampant in the Bridge!
64'
Barkley tries another long-range effort after running towards goal, but his shot goes well wide to Lossl’s left.
61'
Kante cheaply gives the ball away to Kachunga, but immediately wins it back to play Hazard in. The lively winger passes it to Willian out on the wing, but his cross is intercepted and cleared away by an improved Huddersfield defence.
57'
Schindler gets back up after spending some time on the deck following an aerial duel with David Luiz. No need for medical treatment for the Terriers centre-back.
56'
Christensen trips Kachunga in the box, but referee Tierney denies the Terriers a chance to score from 12 yards! The Huddersfield forward is incensed at the decision, but both teams play on.
54'
Mooy wins the ball off Willian with a robust shoulder-check and plays Billing in, who manages to get a good hit on the ball that forces Arrizabalaga to dive low and collect.
47'
Willian is easily dispossessed by Bacuna and the latter has the freedom of the pitch to embark on a run towards goal. He passes it to Kachunga, but the latter gets tackled and the ball is cleared away by the Blues defence.
46'
Chelsea get play restarted as the second half gets underway!
No changes to either side at the interval, as Chelsea look to maintain their dominance over their struggling opponents for the next 45 minutes.
45' +4
HALF-TIME: CHELSEA 2-0 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
45' +1
Penalty goal scored by E. Hazard for Chelsea!
GOOOAAALLL!! HAZARD MAKES IT 2-0!! The Belgium winger makes no mistake from the spot as he scores his 11th Premier League goal of the season!
42'
The lively Diakhaby skips past Willian and goes on a mazy run towards goal, but his pass towards Mounie is cut out by Christensen and the defender takes a touch before clearing the ball away from his goal.
40'
Higuain ends a tidy spell of adventurous Chelsea play - built from the back through a series of quick one-touch passes and a driving midfield run by Kante - by tripping Kachunga after his cross was intercepted by Schindler.
38'
Chelsea try to pick the locks of a tight Huddersfield defence, but play ends when Jorginho’s shot is blocked and cleared away by the away backline.
36'
Diakhaby has been at the heart of Huddersfield’s good play these past few minutes, and the pacy winger is able to get in the box only for David Luiz to nick the ball before further damage can be dealt. The Terriers are now giving their more illustrious opponents something to think about with less than 10 minutes left before half-time.
32'
Huddersfield venture forward once more with Diakhaby again leading the charge, and the winger is able to cut it back to the onrushing Billing only for the midfielder’s shot to get blocked and eventually cleared.
29'
Diakhaby is tripped by Hazard in a rare threatening moment by Huddersfield, and the visitors now have a free-kick lined up in promising territory. Mooy’s whipped delivery causes some panic in the Chelsea box, but Kachunga is unable to make the chance count and Chelsea clear.
27'
S. Mounié enters the game and replaces I. Mbenza.
Mbenza is unable to carry on, and Mounie is brought on in his place in a like-for-like swap up front.
20'
Barkley wastes another good opportunity for the Blues, as he gets barely any contact on a decent Willian cross before the ball trickles away for a Huddersfield goal kick. Chelsea have been all over the Terriers so far, and unless the visitors can retain some solidity in the midfield, they can expect a long afternoon ahead.
16'
G. Higuaín has scored a goal for Chelsea! Assist by N. Kanté.
Kante deserves all the plaudits for his excellent pass which left the away defence dumbfounded and Higuain free to grab his first Chelsea goal.
GOOOAAALLLL!!! HIGUAIN BREAKS THE DEADLOCK!! The new arrival bags his first Premier League strike following more Chelsea pressure in the Huddersfield half, and he gets on the end of Kante’s brilliant throughball before slotting it past Lossl! 1-0 to the Blues, and it has been coming!
14'
More good play by Hazard, who wins a corner off another Lossl save after playing a fast one-two with Higuain. The set-piece is quickly taken by Willian, but David Luiz’s shot blazes high over the bar. Goal kick to Huddersfield.
9'
Hazard runs through the midfield and finds Willian out on the wing, but the Brazilian’s cross is safely caught by Lossl.
5'
Hazard and Alonso interchanging well in their own half as Chelsea attempt to play from the back. Despite their opponents’ abysmal form, the Blues will have to perform a lot better than they did against Bournemouth a few days ago.
1'
The hosts are decked out in their usual colours of all-blue, while the visitors are sporting their away number of yellow-and-black.
Referee Paul Tierney blows his whistle, and Huddersfield get us underway at the Bridge!
Chelsea return to London following their worst league defeat since 1996 against an inspired Bournemouth side who ran rampant throughout the second half, causing the Blues to drop to fifth with Arsenal leapfrogging them on goal difference. With Maurizio Sarri now under intense scrutiny, a visit from their struggling opponents couldn’t have come at a better time for his men to reignite their charge towards the Champions League places despite close pressure from the Gunners and Manchester United only two points behind both sides.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield continue to struggle and remain firmly rooted to the bottom having only picked up a solitary point from the last 33 available (drew one, lost 10). With a 12-point gap from safety, it’s almost a matter of ‘when?’ and not ‘if?’ for the Terriers, and new gaffer Jan Siewert will have to perform miracles if they are to stand any chance of getting anything from their wounded hosts on their turf.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage of this Premier League match as Chelsea host Huddersfield Town at Stamford Bridge!
SUBSTITUTES: Ben Hamer, Jason Puncheon, Zanka, Florent Hadergjonaj, Steve Mounie, Alex Pritchard, Karlan Grant.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN XI (4-3-3): Jonas Lossl; Tommy Smith (c), Christopher Schindler, Terence Kongolo, Chris Lowe; Aaron Mooy, Juninho Bacuna, Philip Billing; Isaac Mbenza, Elias Kachunga, Adama Diakhaby.
CHELSEA XI (4-3-3): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Cesar Azpilicueta (c), Andreas Christensen, David Luiz, Marcos Alonso; N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Ross Barkley; Willian, Gonzalo Higuain, Eden Hazard.
With 20 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how both sides line up, starting with the hosts.
The players are out and kick-off is drawing near.
As expected, Huddersfield’s visit is proving to be the perfect tonic for the Blues so far as they have dominated the relegation candidates for an overwhelming majority of the first half. Hazard has caused no end of problems for the away defence, and Kante has looked like his usual combative self more than he has in recent weeks. Sarri won’t have an easier team talk all season.
Aside from a few threatening moments led by the electric Diakhaby, Huddersfield for the most part have barely been able to get into gear at the Bridge. Mooy’s headed effort early on in the first half was the closest they’ve come to scoring, and Hazard’s penalty just before half-time must be a blow to the Terriers who started to gain some attacking momentum. Siewert now has an uphill task ahead.
And that wraps up our coverage. We hope you enjoyed our commentary, and until next time, goodbye!
Both sides return to Premier League action next weekend, as Huddersfield host Arsenal at the John Smith’s on Saturday while Chelsea head up north for a titanic clash at the Etihad against Manchester City on the following day.
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