Huddersfield Town fell to their third home defeat of the season with a lacklustre display against Premier League champions Chelsea last night.
Brazilian Willian was the chief architect for Antonio Conte's men – scoring one and making two others as the the Blues turned on the style in West Yorkshire.
And although Town substitute Laurent Depoitre headed home a fine goal deep into stoppage time it was a mere consolation for David Wagner's side.
Unsurprisingly, much of the post-match attention was on Chelsea's performance with much of the media purring over their display against a below-par Town side.
Have a look below at some of the best lines from across the media on the John Smith's Stadium encounter...
The Guardian
Conceding the title early can sometimes backfire, and it would have been easy to imagine Antonio Conte’s players lacking the appetite for a wet night in west Yorkshire after hearing their manager admit Manchester City might be uncatchable, yet in the event Chelsea played like champions.
Huddersfield were outclassed, indeed a little fortunate not to be embarrassed, once Chelsea got into their smooth, attacking stride.
“The best team we’ve seen here all season” was one opinion expressed over the PA at half-time, which is quite a compliment considering City have already been to these parts and won.
The Sun
The Terriers were a pale shadow of the side that ended a run of four defeats by seeing off Brighton 2-0 three days earlier - they lacked belief and commitment, and were there for the taking.
Maybe they knew they were fighting a losing cause; only one of Chelsea’s nine defeats since Conte took charge has come outside London – a 2-0 reverse at Manchester United in April.
But no-one could have predicted Chelsea would find goals so simple to come by, especially as Alvaro Morata’s back problem meant they went in without a recognised striker.
The Telegraph
Conte made changes to his side, replacing Gary Cahill with Antonio Rudiger and the injured Alvaro Morata with Eden Hazard in the central striking position – a false nine for Chelsea, and a whole lot of false hope for Huddersfield, who were never in the game.
They neither pressed the ball nor defended deep with any conviction and afterwards David Wagner said that to get anything from the game they had needed “to over-perform”, which was certainly not the case.
It certainly felt a world away from the day in October that Manchester United were beaten at the John Smith’s Stadium and Jose Mourinho praised the adventure and spirit of Wagner’s team.
This performance lacked all the intensity and determination that might produce a shock result like that – and while Wagner was upbeat about his team in the first-half even he had to admit that Bakayoko’s opener had been a “sloppy goal to concede”.
The Independent
Chelsea fans have been wondering for months when they might begin to see something of value from Tiemoue Bakayoko - the £40m summer signing from Monaco finally provided some sort of answer last night.
The French midfielder’s calm finish set Antonio Conte’s side on their way to a comfortable victory over a below-par Huddersfield, and gave their head coach something to feel warm about at the end of a testing few days.
The Express
Their title defence may be over but Antonio Conte’s men had no problems marching to a comprehensive victory in West Yorkshire.
David Wagner’s side saw off Manchester United on this ground in October and ran Manchester City close just over a fortnight ago.
Last night, though, the class divide was clear for all to see. Chelsea took systematic control from the outset and first-half goals from Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willian put the Terriers to bed.
A delightful third from Pedro shortly after the restart was just a reward for Conte’s men, whose collective desire could certainly not be faulted.
The Daily Mail
Antonio Conte may have given up the Premier League race, but there is some fight left in this Chelsea team yet.
Through the wind and the rain, they turned what threatened to be a very difficult night into something of a procession.
The home side contributed to their own downfall on a night when they could, and should, have made life far more uncomfortable for Chelsea.
FourFourTwo
Huddersfield, who had won three of their previous four home games, offered little in the way of attacking threat until Laurent Depoitre nodded in a 92nd-minute header.
Boss David Wagner now needs to pick his side up for a difficult trip to Watford on Saturday.
