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Higuain and Eden Hazard both scored twice as Chelsea returned to winning ways
with a much-needed 5-0 victory over Huddersfield.
Higuain opened the scoring after 16 minutes with his first goal for Chelsea, who
came under scrutiny after they were thrashed 4-0 by Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Hazard made it 2-0 with a penalty in first-half injury-time and then added the
third in the 66th minute.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (6), Alonso (6), Luiz (7), Christensen (7),
Azpilicueta (7), Jorginho (6), Kante (7), Barkley (6), Willian (7), Hazard (9),
Higuain (8)
Subs: Kovacic (5), Hudson-Odoi (5), Loftus-Cheek (5)
Huddersfield: Lossl (5), Smith (5), Kongolo (5), Schindler (5),
Lowe (5), Bacuna (5), Billing (5), Mooy (5), Mbenza (4), Kachunga (5), Diakhaby
(5)
Subs: Mounie (5), Grant (5), Pritchard (5)
Man of the match: Eden Hazard
January signing Higuain curled in his second shortly afterwards (69) before
David Luiz headed in from a corner late in the game (86).
The win moves Chelsea back into the top four in the Premier League, with Arsenal
and Manchester United playing on Sky Sports on Sunday, while Huddersfield stay
13 points adrift of safety at the bottom of the table.
Chelsea and Maurizio Sarri had faced some tough questions after their worst
Premier League defeat in 23 years in midweek, but they made an encouraging start
against Huddersfield as Ross Barkley flashed a shot wide and Hazard forced Jonas
Lossl into a diving save.
Huddersfield had the best chance of the opening 15 minutes, though, as Mooy
headed over the bar from Chris Lowe's cross.
Chelsea took the lead in the 16th minute when N'Golo Kante slipped a
well-disguised pass into the box for Higuain, who fired past Lossl at the near
post.
Higuain then went close to a second as he poked wide from Marcos Alonso's cross.
Huddersfield threatened on the break when Philip Billing saw a shot blocked, but
Chelsea added to their lead late in the half as Hazard converted from the
penalty spot after Cesar Azpilicueta had been fouled right on the edge of the
box.
The visitors were denied a penalty of their own early in the second half when
Elias Kachunga went down in the box under a challenge from Andreas Christensen.
Two goals in three minutes then put Chelsea in firm control, with Hazard
finishing after rounding Lossl and Higuain curling in a shot from 20 yards with
the aid of a deflection.
Luiz headed in from a corner in the 86th minute to round off the win.
Team news
Chelsea made four changes from their defeat at Bournemouth as Christensen,
Alonso, Barkley and Willian replaced Rudiger, Emerson, Kovacic and Pedro.
Huddersfield made five changes as Smith, Lowe, Billing, Mooy and Mbenza came in
for Hadergjonaj, Jorgensen, Hogg, Puncheon and Mounie. New signing Karlan Grant
started on the bench.
Man of the match - Eden Hazard
After reportedly being singled out for criticism by Sarri after Chelsea's defeat
to Bournemouth, Hazard responded with a fabulous individual display. He was
always a threat on the ball, even managing to stay on his feet after two players
tried to bring him down in the second half.
Sarri has said that Hazard can sometimes be "an individual player more than a
leader", but this was him leading by example.
What's next?
Chelsea face a trip to Manchester City in the Premier League next Sunday, live
on Sky Sports. Huddersfield host Arsenal on Saturday.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Kepa, Azpilicueta (c), Christensen, Luiz, Alonso, Kante
(Loftus-Cheek 83), Jorginho (Kovacic 70), Barkley, Willian, Higuain, Hazard
(Hudson-Odoi 77)
Subs Not Used Caballero, Rudiger, Pedro, Giroud
Booked
Goals Higuain 16, 69, Hazard 45+1 (pen), 66, Luiz 86
Huddersfield Town Lossi, Smith, Kongolo, Bacuna, Billing (Grant
67), Kachunga, Mooy, Diakhaby (Pritchard 84), Lowe, Mbenza (Mounie 27),
Schindler
Subs Not Used Hamer, Zanka, Hadergjonaj, Puncheon
Booked
Goals
Attendance 40,626
Referee Paul Tierney