Huddersfield held Chelsea to 1-1 draw to ensure safety in the Premier League. (Source: Reuters)
Huddersfield Town secured their Premier League survival and severely dented Chelsea’s Champions League hopes with a heroic 1-1 Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Huddersfield, needing a point to be sure of avoiding relegation, took a shock lead in the 50th minute when a long ball from Aaron Mooy found Laurent Depoitre who won a challenge with Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero on the edge of the box and put the ball in the empty net.
It was Huddersfield’s first attempt on goal and Chelsea were back level 13 minutes later when a defensive clearance struck Marcos Alonso on the head and rebounded into the net.
Chelsea kept up the pressure as they pushed for a winner and Huddersfield keeper Jonas Lossl turned a header by Andreas Christensen on to the post.
But the visitors, who also drew 0-0 at champions Manchester City on Sunday, held on to secure their Premier League status and Chelsea remained outside the Champions League spots in fifth place with one game left in the season.
The Huddersfield supporters sang “We are staying up” as manager David Wagner celebrated wildly with his players on the pitch.
“This is an unbelievable achievement. We have a further season in the Premier League,” Wagner told the BBC. “For sure, we had our luck, for sure, Chelsea were the better team. We stole a point but we needed it.”
“The dressing-room has shown such togetherness all season, they always believed that in football the impossible is possible and we have done it. We didn’t have to rely on other teams, we have done it on our own. We love games like this, we knew what we needed, a point.”
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was in downbeat mood with his team needing to win their final game at Newcastle and hope Liverpool lose at home to Brighton if they are to qualify for the Champions League.
“The only hope and intention was to keep our hopes alive and win the game. We tried with all of our strength to win but the result penalised our team a lot,” Conte said.
“For sure we had so many chances and you must be good to take them. It is not the first time that we are not clinical, there are many circumstances for this. We must accept the final result and the commitment was impressive of the players. We tried to win the game until the end.”
Wagner delighted at stealing point from Chelsea
Huddersfield Town coach David Wagner declared his team had stolen the point that ensured their Premier League survival after holding last season’s champions Chelsea to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday.
Wagner’s players soaked up constant Chelsea pressure before and after their surprise 50th-minute goal, scored by Laurent Depoitre – their sole shot on target.
“It was a stolen point for sure,” Wagner told reporters.
“Chelsea were the better team and for sure we had the lady luck. We’ve seen desire, spirit, attitude to get an unbelievable result.”
Huddersfield also grabbed a point from runaway champions Manchester City last week.
“This makes it an incredible achievement for us,” German Wagner said.
The result all but ended Chelsea’s chances of playing Champions League football next season. With one game to go they trail Liverpool in fourth place by two points.
The home side equalised through Marcos Alonso and hit the woodwork twice as they tried to find a way through the massed Huddersfield defence.
A dour Chelsea coach Antonio Conte said it was hard to explain a match where his side had 82 percent possession and all the chances but still came away with a draw.
“We must respect they started this game with only one target in mind to take one point and for this reason they defended very deep,” he said.
“We must give compliments to Huddersfield for this result…congratulations to the club.”
The Italian, widely tipped to leave Chelsea at the end of the season, sidestepped questions about how to improve his squad, saying he was sure the club would look at that later.
He was thinking only of the last game of the season at Newcastle next weekend and the FA Cup final against Manchester United a week later, he said.
Chelsea attempted a lap of honour for the last home game of the season but it was a brief and half-hearted affair, drowned out by the celebrating Huddersfield fans and with most disappointed home supporters already making their way to the tube.
Exhausted Huddersfield players had flung themselves into a pile on the pitch then raced to celebrate with their bench and the singing fans, preparing for a cheerfully noisy trip back north.