Jorginho already proving his worth to Chelsea as Kepa avoids drama on debut

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Simon Johnson11 August 2018

New Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri opened his first Premier League season with a comfortable 3-0 win at Hudderfield.

Italian Sarri, who replaced sacked compatriot Antonio Conte in July, had seen his Blues well beaten by champions Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley.

Chelsea, though, soon put that behind them with an impressive away performance to get their league campaign off to an ideal start.

Simon Johnson analyses the key talking points for Chelsea...

Jorginho already proving his worth

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Chelsea spent £57m on the Napoli midfielder this summer and he already looks worth every penny.

Anyone who has watched the 26-year-old in pre-season will have been impressed by what he's done so far, but this was a proper test.

With Huddersfield sitting deep early on and pressing every opportunity they got, Jorginho didn't have the time and space he enjoyed in a gentle friendly.

There were times in the first half that he struggled to get involved but cream always rises to the top.

He started the move that led to the opening goal with a neat flick into Pedro's path.

It was the Italy international's through ball that also played a part in Marcos Alonso winning a penalty.

Jorginho converted the spot kick with the cheekiest finish, sending Ben Hamer the wrong way and passing it ever so slowly into the opposite corner.

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A fairly gentle debut for Kepa

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As far as introductions to English football go, Kepa was able to relax for most of the afternoon.

Now he is the most expensive keeper in the world having joined Chelsea from Athletic Bilabo for £73m, the 23-year-old's every move will be under great scrutiny.

Fortunately Huddersfield's attack were never going to be good enough to cause too many problems, however it was still a potentially nervous occasion to overcome.

His first meaningful touch was to slice a clearance straight up in the air, but more encouragingly, the Spain star was very quick to react to a dangerous ball over the top.

Kepa's first save for Chelsea was a tame 25 yard effort from Alex Pritchard and he wasn't afraid to claim crosses into the area.

Luckily a header from Steve Mounie rebounded off the post, but overall this was a nice outing ahead of a more challenging London derby against Arsenal next Saturday.

Summer of speculation firmly in Willian's past

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Life has certainly not been dull in the Willian household over the last three months.

The Brazil international's future at Stamford Bridge has been subject to a lot of debate since he posted a photo on social media after the FA Cup Final victory in May.

He covered Antonio Conte's image up with trophy emojis in the team photo taken on the pitch afterwards.

Unconvincingly, Willian blamed his young daughter in the same interview conducted recently where he also claimed Antonio Conte was very difficult to work with.

Luckily for the 30-year-old, Conte was fired as manager last month and replaced by Maurizio Sarri.

Barcelona and Manchester United were both looking to sign him, but Sarri's arrival put an end to all that.

And Willian showed how he's been totally unaffected by it all. Playing on the left wing, he gave Huddersfield problems throughout and claimed a first assist of the campaign with a neat cross.

Barkley is ready to fight for his place

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After having an encouraging pre-season, you can forgive Barkley for being a little disappointed at Mateo Kovacic's arrival from Real Madrid on Wednesday.

It is expected that once fully match fit, Kovacic will play most of the games in a three-man midfield alongside Jorginho and N'Golo Kante.

The 24-year-old, who joined on loan as part of Thibaut Courtois' switch to the Bernabeu, is very highly rated.

But Barkley is looking to make an impression in a Chelsea shirt having been given little action since joining from Everton in January for £15m.

Fully recovered from a serious hamstring injury, Barkley looks sharp. Not every touch came off here, but many others did.

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Most notably, it was his lovely lay-off that played in Alonso for the penalty just before half-time.

There is still a lot of improving to do, but Kovacic knows he won't simply walk straight into the first XI.

It doesn't matter where he plays, Kante shines

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Remarkably some observers wondered where Kante would fit in with Sarri's 4-3-3 formation.

But apart from in goal, due an obvious height disadvantage, you get the impression this guy can play anywhere.

With Jorginho employed as Sarri's trusted lieutenant as the deep midfielder, Kante is now asked to play a bit further forward to the Italian's right.

It will give him more licence to be a threat in the opposition area, but his pace still allows him to break up moves as usual.

Naturally his understanding with Jorginho will take a bit of time as Kante only reported for training on Monday having been given extended time off following the World Cup.

But Kante looked assured as ever and even capped his display with a rare goal, converting Willian's cross to ease Chelsea's nerves when the game was in the balance at 0-0.

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