The Match of the Day 2 pundits believed Huddersfield Town's work ethic and fitness was crucial to the West Yorkshire side grabbing a hard fought, but well-deserved nonetheless, point against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Ahead of the game, no one gave the Terriers a chance, with the newly-crowned Premier League champions expected to mark their title party with a routine victory in front of their own fans.
However, David Wagner’s men went to spoil the celebrations, and to some extent – that’s exactly what they did – sharing the points in the 0–0 draw – allowing the Terriers to move three points above the relegation zone with two games remaining.
Pundits Ian Wright and Jermaine Jenas were impressed by Town’s tenacity to ground out a result at the Etihad Stadium.
Huddersfield fought until the end
On the BBC highlights show, Jenas said: “I would argue that Huddersfield don't have to need to try when it comes to work ethic and fitness – where you expect to catch teams like Huddersfield out is them switching off and the mental side of the game.”
“But they had the channels locked down and the bodies behind the ball to make sure City just couldn’t get through,” the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder added.
Former Arsenal striker Wright agreed with his colleague, by saying: “Their work rate was phenomenal and what was so good was that they didn’t seem to run out of steam.”
“They were tenacious in trying to get the ball back but when they did get it back, and what I am hoping to see more of if they do survive, is they then tried to get forward with gusto,” he continued.
Before adding: “You still have to make sure everyone is concentrating and there are no weak links though – they needed to fight for something and they did, and it might just be enough to save them."
Jenas was also keen to emphasise on the importance of that point, with tough fixtures against Chelsea and Arsenal to conclude their debut Premier League campaign this week.
“Their goal difference is a nightmare – but that point means having to win one of their last games is less important and another one point might just see them safe,” he concluded.