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Maurizio Sarri made a winning start as Chelsea boss as his side cruised to a comfortable 3-0 Premier League victory at Huddersfield.<\/p>\nMaurizio Sarri made a winning start as Chelsea boss as his side cruised to a comfortable 3-0 Premier League victory at Huddersfield.<\/p>\n
Former Napoli boss Sarri is expecting a rough early ride in the Chelsea hot-seat, but goals from N\u2019Golo Kante, summer signing Jorginho and Pedro allayed fears of an opening-day upset.<\/p>\n
World Cup winner Kante\u2019s scruffy 34th-minute volley and Jorginho\u2019s audacious penalty on the stroke of half-time put Chelsea in control before Pedro wrapped up the points in the closing stages.<\/p>\n
Kepa Arrizabalaga, the world\u2019s most expensive goalkeeper, barely had a save to make on his Blues debut, while Jorginho slotted seamlessly into a well-balanced midfield, which refused to be out-hussled by David Wagner\u2019s Terriers.<\/p>\n
Kepa, signed from Athletic Bilbao for \u00a372.1million on Wednesday, had little to do for the opening 20 minutes as Chelsea hogged the ball, but made a hash of an early touch when he passed straight to Town midfielder Aaron Mooy.<\/p>\n
Alex Pritchard fired Huddersfield\u2019s first effort straight at Kepa soon after, which the Spaniard comfortably dealt with.<\/p>\n
At the other end, Huddersfield\u2019s debutent goalkeeper Ben Hamer, signed on a free transfer from Leicester, made a nervous start, twice putting the home side under pressure with misplaced passes from his penalty area.<\/p>\n
Huddersfield enjoyed more possession towards the half-hour mark as Steve Mounie\u2019s rising effort cleared the crossbar and a series of crosses from Town left-back Chris Lowe tested Chelsea\u2019s defense.<\/p>\n
But Chelsea took the lead in the 34th-minute. Willian\u2019s delivery from the left evaded Huddersfield\u2019s cover and Kante\u2019s mistimed volley span into the ground and inside the far post.<\/p>\n
Huddersfield\u2019s response was swift, with Mounie heading Mooy\u2019s 36th-minute corner against the inside of the far post.<\/p>\n
But the Terriers were dealt a hammer blow in the 44th minute when referee Chris Kavanagh awarded the visitors a controversial penalty.<\/p>\n
Christopher Schindler\u2019s sliding challenge on Marcos Alonso was deemed illegal by Kavanagh and Jorginho craftily waited for Hamer to commit before clipping his spot kick into the opposite corner.<\/p>\n
Huddersfield fans will have felt the half-time score was harsh, but Chelsea set about extending their lead after the restart.<\/p>\n
Antonio Rudiger\u2019s header from Willian\u2019s corner was well saved by Hamer, low down to his left, and Alonso\u2019s acrobatic volley from another set-piece soon after clipped the crossbar.<\/p>\n
Referee Kavanagh further incensed Town fans when failing to see Kepa had clearly pushed Philip Billing\u2019s 73rd-minute header over the target when awarding a goal kick instead of a corner.<\/p>\n
Sarri sent on Eden Hazard for Willian with 14 minutes left and the Belgian helped put the game to bed.<\/p>\n
Hazard sliced through Huddersfield\u2019s defense down the middle before setting up Pedro, who drove home a low angled shot into the bottom corner.<\/p>\n