Maurizio Sarri made the best possible start to his opening Premier League game with a routine 3-0 win against Huddersfield Town. David Wagner's men were set on the back foot by Chelsea's new-look midfield as £57million signing Jorginho and N'Golo Kante got on the scoresheet in the first-half to reflect their superiority. It was Jorginho who set up the initial goal, feeding the ball into Pedro, with a slick combination alongside Willian culminating in a cross for Kante. Despite failing to make good contact with the ball, the midfeilder managed to find the target and open his account for the new campaign.
Just ten minutes later and the Italian got himself on the scoreboard, bombing forward from his own half to play in Ross Barkley. The ball landed to Marcus Alonso whose mazey run from deep was reminiscent of his energy from last season. Although Huddersfield initally seemed to deal well with the attack after Christopher Schindler tackled Alonso before he could line up a proper shot on goal, the referee pointed to the spot allowing Jorginho to mark his Premier League debut with a goal.
Chelsea should have extended their lead just after the first-half interval when Alonso's shot cannonned off the crossbar before he missed another teasing shot. As for Huddersfield, they showed some glimpses in the first forty five that they could test Sarri's side but the second-half failed to deliver any true opportunities for the home side. A dissappointing start to the season, David Wagner's men have work to do ahead of their next match.
Huddersfield have improving to do ahead of their second game or a relegation scrap may beckon
Wagner's side fared well against the top-six last season, achieving big results that helped them escape the relegation scrap last season and while this was just the opening game of the campaign and plenty can change in the 37 remaining fixtures, Huddersfield were far from the quality we saw last year causing many to tip them for relegation.
The main worry from the match was the distinct lack of creativity, especially in the second-half in which Huddersfield failed to test Chelsea's new goalkeeper, who joined for a world-record fee this summer. Add to that their poor defensive play in allowing Kante to coast into the area unmarked and a naive lunge that gave away a penalty, Wagner will have a task on his hands to retain a place in the top flight for another year.
Chelsea off to winning start but far bigger tests lie in wait
You couldn't have asked for more from Chelsea on Saturday, getting off to an easy start with a simple win. However, for all the positives of gaining the three points Huddersfield hardly troubled their back four, two of whom are known to be susceptible to lapses in concentration and discipline. A combination of David Luiz and Andreas Christensen could come unstuck for Sarri this season with far more testing fixtures awaiting the Londoners.
Just look at the Community Shield game against Manchester City last weekend in which Chelsea looked very abject at the back, unable to showcase the strength needed to mount any form of challenge on the Premier League title.