Chelsea moved level on points with Manchester United in second place thanks to a 3-1 victory over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium on Tuesday night.
Tiemoue Bakayoko put the Blues in front a quarter of the way into the contest following some sloppy opposition play, and Willian added a second soon after.
The visitors found the net for a third time through Pedro early in the second period, before Laurent Depoitre pulled one back from the final act of the match.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Huddersfield Town and Chelsea at the John Smith's Stadium. The Blues' title hopes are already effectively over with less than half the campaign played, having slipped to a fourth defeat of the season at the hands of West Ham United last time out, while the Terriers are well on course to achieving their own personal aim as they sit five points above the relegation zone after a solid start.
The visitors have not had the greatest of weeks, it is fair to say, as they also slipped up against Atletico Madrid last week to finish in their Champions League group. The punishment for failing to get the job done in their final home fixture? A last-16 tie against a much-fancied Barcelona side which, in the eyes of many, could leave the Blues battling for just the two domestic cups come the final few months of the campaign.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso; Willian, Hazard, Pedro
SUBS: Caballero, Cahill, Ampadu, Drinkwater, Fabregas, Musonda, Batshuayi
Starting with a look at the away side, boss Antonio Conte has had to make do without leading goalscorer Alvaro Morata for this trip to Yorkshire. Eden Hazard, as expected, is likely to lead the attack through the middle - a position that he is becoming more and more accustomed to of late - while Pedro and Willian are tasked with providing support from the wide positions in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
Conte has certainly not held back, as Gary Cahill, Davide Zappacosta and Cesc Fabregas are also left out of the starting lineup for this evening's match. Antonio Rudiger, Willian and Victor Moses all come in, giving the visiting side a fresh look as they attempt to bounce back from their disappointing setback at the London Stadium a few days ago. Rudiger will slot in alongside Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta in the three-man backline.
The returning Moses makes his landmark 200th Premier League appearance this evening, occupying a spot down the right-hand flank, with Marcos Alonso on the opposite side. Tiemoue Bakayoko and N'Golo Kante are paired together in a two-man central midfield, which Huddersfield may well look to target. No doubt that being without Morata tonight is a blow for Chelsea, as the summer signing leads the club's scoring charts with nine goals this term.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Lossl; Smith, Jorgensen, Schindler, Lowe; Hogg, Mooy; Williams, Ince, Kachunga; Mounie
SUBS: Coleman, Whitehead, Cranie, Van La Parra, Depoitre, Quaner, Hadergjonaj
In terms of the home side, David Wagner has made just the one alteration on the back of last weekend's 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion here. Danny Williams returns to the starting lineup after a one-game absence, taking over from Colin Quaner who is back among the subs. An otherwise unchanged XI means that Tommy Smith will make his 150th league start for the Terriers this evening.
Wagner also welcomes Rajiv van La Parra back into his matchday squad following the conclusion of a three-man ban for his sending-off against Manchester City last month. Van La Parra takes over from Joe Lolley on the bench, though the likes of Philip Billing, Jon Gorenc Stankovic and Michael Hefele are all recovering from injury problems, and Kasey Palmer - unused against Brighton - is ineligible due to his loan agreement.
Steve Mounie will lead the line for Huddersfield tonight, no doubt on a high after ending his nine-game wait for a goal last time out. Eight of the summer signings 18 goals since the start of last season have come via his head, including half of his four goals in a Huddersfield shirt. Tom Ince and Elias Kachunga will likely start just off Mounie in attack, while Aaron Mooy is one to keep an eye on a little deeper in midfield.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has made four changes to his starting lineup for this evening's game, bringing in Willian and Pedro as part of the alterations from the 1-0 loss to West Ham United. Tellingly, though, it is Eden Hazard who leads the line for the Blues this evening, against a Huddersfield Town side showing just one change - Danny Williams in for Colin Quaner.
The Terriers head into this midweek clash sitting 12th in the Premier League table and with a chance to climb into the top half. Everton in 10th are just a point out of their reach but, perhaps more importantly at this stage, West Ham United - the occupiers of the final relegation spot as things stand - are five points further back. Survival remains the one and only aim for Town on their return to the top flight.
The 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday really was massive for Wagner's charges, having gone into that match sitting just two points above West Ham, who stunned Chelsea in the day's early kickoff. The victory for Huddersfield also ended a five-match losing run; a run that saw them concede 13 goals and score just one - that solitary goal coming in an unfortunate 2-1 defeat to Manchester City here a little over two weeks ago.
A late Raheem Sterling goal was required to undo Huddersfield when Man City visited here, but Manchester United were not so lucky as they fell to a 2-1 loss in the first major blow to their title hopes. Tottenham Hotspur eased to victory here in the opening stages of the season, however, and both Arsenal and Liverpool were comfortable fixtures on home soil. Still, Town have proved that on their day they can more than match the big boys.
Huddersfield really are a different beast at home, however, with 14 points from their first eight games here - the eighth-best record in the entire division - compared to just four points, and a rather shocking tally of three goals, from the same number of matches on their travels. No wonder that Wagner has talked up his side's form at the John Smith's Stadium, where a packed house can put the opposition under real pressure.
Wagner talked about the right "blueprint" on the back of the 2-0 win over Brighton, with Mounie netting twice in the second half to give his side the chance to rather comfortably pick up all three points. That was just their fifth league victory of the campaign, lifting them a nice distance clear of the relegation zone ahead of this very tough fixture. After the visit of Chelsea, Town then face back-to-back away games against Watford and Southampton before Christmas.
Stoke and Burnley then visit the John Smith's Stadium in quick succession as the busy festive and New Year fixtures reach their conclusion. In fact, after this Huddersfield have what you would describe as a 'nice run' of seven games before welcoming Liverpool at the end of January. Certainly a chance to put some points on the board, with the target no doubt being to remain free of the bottom three come February.
Huddersfield have won three of their last four home games - Man City being the only side to take anything from here over the last couple of months, even then requiring a late goal to do so. Victory tonight really would be something special for the Terriers, though, as they have not defeated the reigning champions of England since overcoming Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 in September 1954.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Huddersfield Town's last league win against Chelsea was by a 2-1 scoreline in the old Division Two, coming 54 years ago. The most recent league encounter was in the second tier in 1983-84 season, although they have met a few times since then in cup competitions; the Blues winning a couple of FA Cup ties and the Terriers progressing in the 1999 EFL Cup.
David Wagner can be more than happy with Huddersfield Town's first taste of Premier League football to date. A five-match losing run had them drifting towards the bottom three, leaving them just two points above the dropzone before playing Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon, but victory in that fixture has lifted them into 12th place and now they are looking up rather than down.
Chelsea are the only members of the division's established top-six sides in action this evening, looking to take advantage by closing the gap on Manchester United in second. The Blues are currently three points behind the Red Devils but, more tellingly, the gap on runaway leaders Manchester City stands at a whopping 14 points. No wonder that Conte ruled his side out of the title running following defeat to West Ham.
Their title defence may effectively be over, but Chelsea cannot afford to drop more points tonight as the battle for a top-four spot is as alive as ever. Liverpool are two points behind and Arsenal five, while Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley are also within touching distance. One thing you can say about Conte's side is that they have been consistent, taking the same number of points both at home and away - five wins, one draw and two defeats.
The 1-0 loss to West Ham last time out really was a shock, ending a positive run of six wins and a draw in their previous seven top-flight fixtures since going down to Crystal Palace in October. The problem for Chelsea, of course, is that they have been playing catch up for the past couple of months, having dropped points in half of their opening eight games, including to Palace and Burnley. The Hammers can now also add their name to the list of sides to have stunned the champions.
Chelsea are now winless in two matches after taking a draw from their away meeting with Liverpool; one point from six simply not being enough to put Man City under any pressure ahead of their huge clash with Man United, which they won 2-1 on Sunday. The Blues must find some momentum once again, with trips to Goodison Park and the Emirates Stadium to come over Christmas and the New Year period.
Conte's side also dropped a couple of points in Europe against an Atletico side that had previously struggled to find their feet on the continent this term. That draw was costly, seeing them finish second to Roma by virtue of an inferior head-to-head record and setting up a last-16 showdown with Barcelona in late February. That is the toughest draw any of the five English sides will face, though their EFL Cup quarter-final tie is a little nicer - Bournemouth at home.
DID YOU KNOW? Only one of the nine Premier League defeats Chelsea have suffered under Antonio Conte has come outside of London - a 2-0 loss to Manchester United in April, when they were well en route to a fifth Prem crown. The 16 points they have dropped so far this season is just five fewer than the whole of 2016-17, with less than half of the current campaign played.
Chelsea failed to get off the mark against West Ham, squandering a couple of decent openings late on, though they have never previously gone two-in-a-row without netting under Conte. Twenty-eight goals for the season is also a fairly positive return, with only four other sides bettering that tally, but the man responsible for nine of those in Alvaro Morata is of course absent tonight.
With kickoff at the John Smith's Stadium now a little over five minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
David Wagner: "We have to give a top performance on Tuesday. We cannot give one easy chance away. We have to avoid unforced errors and have to be at our top level and then we will see how this team works. It's a little bit like a cup tie."
Antonio Conte: "I'm not happy because the last game we lost against West Ham. I like to win. When we lose I'm not happy. In 16 games we lost four games. My experience tells me it's impossible to win the title. Now we must be focused in the league."
Wagner acknowledges that the only way Huddersfield will get anything out of this game is to be at the top of their game, as was the case against Manchester United and Manchester City earlier in the campaign. In the case of the latter, even that was not enough as the Citizens - a winning machine in Pep Guardiola's second season at the helm - came away with victory via a late goal.
Conte admits that it is "impossible" for Chelsea to win the title based on their form from the opening 16 games of the season, having see Man City open up a 14-point advantage at the top. At this stage last season, the Blues were six points clear and on their way to a fifth Premier League title; now, they head into this match simply looking to bolster their top-four aspirations.
KICKOFF! We are up and running at a freezing cold John Smith's Stadium. Huddersfield have not registered back-to-back wins since August, which they can achieve this evening with a shock victory in front of their boisterous supporters.
Pedro, on the left of the front three, gets in behind early on but the offside flag was against him. Huddersfield getting plenty of bodies behind the ball when Chelsea attack, with counter-attacking the order of the day for the Terriers.
The visitors have seen plenty of the ball early on in Yorkshire, with Hazard almost getting in behind a few moment ago. Azpilicueta with one of his trademark angled passes, which the Belgian could not bring under control.
Pedro tucks the ball past Jonas Lossl after being slipped through by Willian, but the offside flag had already gone up. A nice finish and a good through-ball, only for the timing to let the Spaniard down on that occasion.
The Terriers not really able to put together any attacking moves so far, while Pedro has been caught offside a couple of times in Chelsea's liveliest moves. Conte's men just having to remain patient in search of an opening goal.
Not the liveliest of starts to the contest at the John Smith's Stadium, which will suit Huddersfield boss Wagner just fine. Chelsea the side who are continuing to ask more of the questions, though the Terriers have started seeing more of the ball.
Mooy truing his best to get Town going at the moment, but Zanka with a sloppy pass that allows Chelsea to push forward again. I think games of this nature are best described as "tactical battles". It will hopefully liven up!
Moses with a cross into the middle for Lossl to punch clear. Chelsea's wing-backs pushing very high up the pitch, while the hosts put as many players as possible between the ball and their box. Hazard drifts into an offside position.
Huddersfield making life really tough for their opponents at the moment. Good play from the home side down the right-hand side, with the ball eventually coming into the box for Victor Moses to help behind for a corner kick.
The corner was initially defended but the ball fell nicely to Mounie, who belted it horribly wide of the target from close range. Perhaps to his relief, the offside flag was correctly raised on the far side. Still waiting for the first shot on goal.
Rudiger goes long to Moses out on the right-hand side, with the ball then being worked back to the opposite flank via the midfield. Chelsea stringing together plenty of passes, but they have yet to really get star man Hazard involved.
GOAL! HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0-1 CHELSEA (TIEMOUE BAKAYOKO)
Chelsea take the lead through the game's first attempt. Lossl was put under some pressure and lost his footing, booting the ball only as far as Moses. The ball was worked to Hazard and then Willian, who in turn picked out Bakayoko to lift it over Lossl and into the net.
Suggestions that it may have been an own goal, with Chris Lowe helping the ball over the line, but it looked as though it was going in regardless of the extra contact. Chelsea do not exactly deserve that lead, though now they have it Town will have to come out of their shell.
Chelsea with 62% of the ball in the opening half an hour of the match, stringing together over 250 passes so far. A nice give-and-go involving Willian and Hazard breaks down as the Belgian could not get on the return pass.
One shot in the opening 30 minutes of the match; one goal in the opening 30 minutes of the match. As efficient as you like from Chelsea, who have not really got out of second gear so far yet still have a one-goal lead in Yorkshire.
Not really happening for Town at the moment. They may be restricting their opponents pretty well, but they have yet to put together a single serious attacking move and look more likely to concede a second than level things up.
Frustratingly, Hazard again drifts into an offside position when picking up possession. It has been a tough first half for the home side, who have already picked up a victory against Man United here and pushed Man City all the way.
Lowe with a good block to cut out Pedro's intended cross, giving the champions a chance to get the ball into the middle via a corner. Willian sends it in but it was cleared away by Kachunga, who has done more defending that attacking this half.
SHOT! Half a chance for Kante - certainly the best opportunity either side of Bakayoko's goal. A left-sided cross was half-cleared as far as the Frenchman, who could only send the ball over the crossbar from 20 yards out.
Hazard far too cute with his flick, which worked in the build-up to the opening goal but not in this latest attack. The ball rolled through for Lossl to comfortably collect before a black shirt could get there, as the Blues continue to dominate possession.
CLOSE! Great footwork from Hazard to force a free kick from Zanka out wide. The ball from Willian was a good one, with Bakayoko getting his head to the ball but making too much contact and sending it wide of the far post.
GOAL! HUDDERSFIELD 0-2 CHELSEA (WILLIAN)
Chelsea have hardly been at their free-flowing best this evening, yet it matters little as they have a two-goal lead at the John Smith's Stadium. Alonso with a nice cross from the left, which Willian got his name to first to nod past a helpless Lossl.
SAVE! A big, big save by Lossl, who kept out Pedro in a one-on-one position. Another sloppy piece of play from Town, which the Blues probably should have made more of. Will that prove a costly miss when the 90 minutes are up?
HALF TIME: HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0-2 CHELSEA
Chelsea in complete control of this contest as we reach half time, scoring a couple of goals through Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willian in the opening 45 minutes. Huddersfield Town yet to register a shot of any sort in what has been a disappointing showing from the hosts.
Antonio Conte made four changes to his starting lineup on the back of the disappointing defeat to West Ham United last time out, bringing in Willian and Pedro to flank makeshift striker Eden Hazard. Despite being in complete control of the ball, the Blues struggled to truly create any openings until their breakthrough moment a quarter of the way through the contest.
The game's first shot led to the first goal, as a weak clearance from Jonas Lossl allowed Victor Moses, Hazard and Willian to combine, before the latter played in Tiemoue Bakayoko to do the rest. Bakayoko had to beat both the angle and Lossl, which he managed to do with a little help from Chris Lowe on the line in what may go down as an own goal.
Chelsea moved from first gear into second for the remainder of the first half, coming close to adding a second through an N'Golo Kante drive over the bar from range and a glanced Bakayoko header towards the back post. The second did arrive before the interval, however, with Willian peeling off his man and converting Marcos Alonso's left-sided cross to give Town a mountain to climb.
Another sloppy error at the back almost had the champions in for a third before the half-time whistle sounded, only for Pedro to come out second best when through one-on-one with Lossl. Even without that third goal, Chelsea are looking very comfortable and should see this one out in the remaining 45 minutes.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN SUBS: Coleman, Whitehead, Cranie, Van La Parra, Depoitre, Quaner, Hadergjonaj
CHELSEA SUBS: Caballero, Cahill, Ampadu, Drinkwater, Fabregas, Musonda, Batshuayi
RESTART! Unsurprisingly, Huddersfield boss David Wagner has tinkered slightly for the start of the second half by bringing on Dean Whitehead for Jonathan Hogg. The home side need to show far more attacking intent in the second 45.
Willian picks out Hazard inside the opposition box, who in turn flicked the ball towards the penalty spot. The Blues with a positive start to the second half, knowing that third goal will kill off the below-par home side for good.
Hazard left one-on-one with Zanka, but he was always likely to cut inside and the centre-back read it well. Huddersfield sitting just as deep as they were in the first half, with Blues keeper Courtois having just five touches of the ball.
GOAL! HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0-3 CHELSEA (PEDRO)
As good as Huddersfield were against Man United and Man City, they have been truly abysmal this evening. Having offered nothing in attack, the Terriers are now three goals down as Pedro curls the ball out of Lossl's reach from 15 yards.
Surprised Wagner has yet to make a second change, just to give his side something a little different. Huddersfield just cannot get the ball under control in the opposition half, and they could well ship two or three more at this rate.
Zanka clatters into Hazard but somehow avoids a yellow card. Eleven minutes of the second half played and the force is still very much with the champions, who must fancy their chances of adding some more goals to their tally.
A far more positive evening for Conte, then, with his side now level on points with Man United in second. No sign of the flow of this game changing - Chelsea continue to knock the ball around with ease in search of a fourth goal of the match.
An hour has now been played in Yorkshire and just the one change has been made so far - Whitehead coming on for Hogg at the interval. Conte rotated his side tonight, with four alterations in all, and he may make some more changes in the coming minutes.
SAVE! Good interplay in the Chelsea attack, with Hazard again at the heart of it. The latest move ended with Moses sending a deflected shot wide of the target, before Hazard tested Lossl down low - decent stop with his feet.
SAVE! At long, long last, Huddersfield finally put together an attacking move! Ince created the chance from nothing, drifting his way into the box and being denied by Courtois, before Christensen headed the loose ball clear.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN SUB! Zanka with a bullet strike that ends high over the bar, before Ince got under the ball with his wayward shot. Much better from Huddersfield, who have introduced Hadergjonaj for Low with 24 minutes to go.
CLOSE! Pedro with plenty of space to operate in, much like with his goal earlier in the half, but on this occasion he was leaning back and was unable to test Lossl. A swift attack then saw the Spaniard shoot marginally wide. Batshuayi is on for Hazard.
Been a more evenly-matched contest since Chelsea's third goal, with Huddersfield - showing a different tactical shape - now getting at their opponents. Mounie's cross had too much on it and Kachunga watched the ball sail over his head.
CHELSEA SUB! Conte has the luxury of taking off N'Golo Kante for the remaining 18 minutes or so. Fellow Leicester City title winner Danny Drinkwater, who missed the West Ham game through illness, comes on in the Frenchman's place.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN SUB! Chelsea have played some very good football at times, but Huddersfield have allowed them to knock it around with ease. Mounie will not add to his four-goal tally this evening, with Depoitre coming on in his place.
With Hazard off the pitch Chelsea are unable to trouble their opponents in the same manner as they were in the opening 65 minutes or so. The Blues appear happy to just see the remainder through in as stress-free manner as possible.
Moses with a cross from the byline, which Lossl is able to hold on to right on his goal-line. Wagner has made all three changes, while Conte still has one more available to choose from - likely to be youngster Ethan Ampadu.
CHELSEA SUB! Conte certainly has a lot of faith in Ampadu, using him a couple of times already this season. Andreas Christensen makes way, so the Wales international will drop into the Blues' backline for the remainder.
The offside flag was up against Batshuayi after getting in behind. The chances have well and truly dried up at the John Smith's Stadium, with the points being put safely in the bag by Chelsea five minutes into the second half.
Still no sign of the scoreline changing in the final six minutes or so of this contest. Chelsea seeing things through in a professional manner, patiently probing away - if the fourth goal arrives, it will be seen as a nice bonus.
A disappointing night for Huddersfield on the whole, having failed to give a true reflection of themselves. A 3-0 loss to the champions is hardly disastrous, though, and they will no doubt pick themselves up in time for their next fixture.
A goal for Batshuayi would cap the evening as far as Conte is deserved, but the substitute striker was just penalised for use of his hand. A clean sheet would also be welcomed by Conte, which looks to be a formality at the moment.
SHOT! Maybe the final chance for Huddersfield to register, with Williams making a horrible connection from 20 yards out. The ball came off Depoitre on its way through, but thankfully for a rooted Courtois it drifted wide.
GOAL! HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 1-3 CHELSEA (LAURENT DEPOITRE)
In the second of three added-on minutes, Depoitre does very well to get across his man and glance the ball past Courtois - no clean sheet for the Belgian. A consolation for Huddersfield, making the scoreline look a little less one-sided than it did.
FULL TIME: HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 1-3 CHELSEA
Chelsea move level on points with Manchester United in second place thanks to a 3-1 victory over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium. Tiemoue Bakayoko put the Blues in front a quarter of the way into the contest following some sloppy opposition play, and Willian added a second soon after. The visitors found the net for a third time through Pedro early in the second period, before Laurent Depoitre pulled one back from the final act of the match.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from West Yorkshire. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction from the John Smith's Stadium can be found elsewhere on the site shortly. Thanks for joining!
