Huddersfield Town 2-1 Manchester United

Aaron MooyImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Aaron Mooy has now scored two Premier League goals

Huddersfield Town beat Manchester United for the first time in 65 years to end their unbeaten start to the season and drop Jose Mourinho's side five points behind league leaders Manchester City at the John Smith's Stadium.

United had only conceded twice in their eight league games this season, but that tally was doubled in five first-half minutes following two sloppy mistakes that were clinically punished.

Juan Mata gave the ball away to Aaron Mooy in midfield and after he fed Tom Ince, whose shot was saved by David de Gea, the Australian was first to the rebound to sweep home from 10 yards.

Then Swedish defender Victor Lindelof - on as a substitute for the injured Phil Jones and making just his second Premier League appearance - misjudged a goal kick by Jonas Lossl and Laurent Depoitre raced onto the loose ball to round De Gea and double the Terriers' lead.

Mourinho made a double substitution at half-time, bringing on Marcus Rashford and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and the former gave United hope with 12 minutes remaining when he nodded in a terrific cross from the otherwise quiet Romelu Lukaku.

But despite a nervy finale and with United enjoying almost 80% of possession, the Terriers clung on to record their first league win against United since 1952 and end a run of six league games without a victory.

With City beating Burnley 3-0, second-placed United lost ground on their neighbours and title rivals.

United's defence breached

United went into the game with seven clean sheets from their eight league games, with only two goals conceded.

No side in top-flight history had ever kept eight clean sheets in their first nine games of a season, but their attempt to make history was dealt an early blow when Jones injured his left leg after a tackle with Mooy.

The England centre-back slammed the ground in frustration as he knew his afternoon was over and he duly hobbled off on 23 minutes.

Media caption,

The best team won - Jose Mourinho

It meant United were now without both first-choice centre-backs given Eric Bailly is also on the sidelines, and Jones' replacement Lindelof did not cover himself in glory.

Despite starting all three Champions League games this season, the Swede's only previous Premier League experience had come in the final few minutes against Liverpool in last week's 0-0 draw.

United suddenly looked nervy with the £31m summer signing alongside Chris Smalling in the heart of the defence, something Lindelof demonstrated with his misjudgement of a routine long ball for Huddersfield's second.

United lacked intensity all over the pitch in fact, and Mourinho attempted to change that in the second-half by altering his formation, with Ander Herrera moving to the right of a back three and Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia used as wing-backs.

United did improve, but even so they still managed just three shots on target in the whole match, while Lukaku had a mere two touches in the Huddersfield penalty area.

Image source, Opta
Image caption,

Manchester United enjoyed 78% of possession in the match, and while their touchmap (right) compared to Huddersfield's (left) illustrated their superiority on the ball, it also demonstrated they did not have enough possession in dangerous areas of the pitch

Terriers' desire proves the key

Mourinho said afterwards the "team that wanted it more won", praising the Terriers' "emotion, aggression, intensity and desire".

The contrast between the two teams in terms of those qualities was notable, and David Wagner's team did not resemble the side that conceded four goals against Tottenham in their last home game.

Huddersfield were well organised throughout and enjoyed success in pressing United in the first-half, forcing two errors that they punished clinically.

Their energy and discipline limited United to just one shot on target in the first-half, an effort from Lukaku in the sixth minute.

And while United drove at them more in the second-half, the Terriers excelled in defence, with Rashford's goal the only blip in an otherwise sound defensive performance.

A sliding block by centre-back Mathias Jorgensen to stop Chris Smalling's shot in the 94th minute epitomised their spirit and application.

"Can't quite believe it," said the stadium announcer at half-time with the score 2-0, in what was a reminder of the club's long wait to get back to the top flight - and why sitting 10th in the league is a significant achievement for Wagner and his side.

Man of the match - Aaron Mooy

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy was his team's driving force in attack and leader in defence. He made the most passes and crosses of any Huddersfield player and he regained possession seven times in the match. The 27-year-old also ran a game-high 13.04km.

What they said?

Jose Mourinho told BBC Sport: "The best team won. It's simple. I have to give them credit. They had a different attitude, motivation and desire than we had.

"Everyone at the stadium could feel in the first couple of minutes that one team was ready to give everything and the other was not ready for it. Maybe only my players realised at half-time.

"It's a shock and I am surprised. I have to analyse. I have some ideas, but this is not the moment for that. We say congratulations to the winners because they wanted it more than us."

Media caption,

Beating Man Utd a very special moment - Wagner

David Wagner told BBC Sport: "The players have shown everything that you have to show when you play Manchester United - the right spirit, attitude and togetherness.

I said before I can't expect a result, but I hope and believe in one. We scored at the right moment. We were at our best, even if we did change the gameplan and gave them more of the ball.

"The first hour was nearly perfect for us. How we defended, how we kept them away from our goal. The longer it went on, they put more pressure on us.

"We had bodies behind the ball, everyone fought to keep it out of the net. It's not only beating Manchester United, which is big enough, but also 12 points on the table."

Stats - Mourinho is not a comeback king

  • Mourinho has failed to win all 19 Premier League games in which his side have been two goals behind (drawn one, lost 18) - that draw coming against Newcastle in September 2015 when managing Chelsea.

  • This was only Mourinho's third defeat to a newly-promoted side in the Premier League (won 33, drawn four) - losing against Crystal Palace in 2013-14, and Bournemouth in 2015-16 when at Chelsea.

  • Three of the last six clubs in their debut Premier League season have beaten Manchester United at home - Burnley in 2009-10, Bournemouth in 2015-16 and Huddersfield in 2017-18.

  • Only Wayne Rooney (15) has scored more Premier League goals as a teenager for United than Marcus Rashford (13).

  • Lukaku has either scored or assisted in eight of his last 10 Premier League games (eight goals, two assists).

  • Lukaku has however failed to score in 18 of his last 25 Premier League games against newly-promoted teams.

  • Mooy has had a hand in 10 league goals for Huddersfield in 2017 (four goals, six assists - including the play-offs); four more than any other player.

What's next?

United travel to Swansea for a League Cup tie on Tuesday, before hosting Tottenham in the Premier League on Saturday.

Huddersfield are at Liverpool in the league on Saturday.

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