May 9 (UPI) — Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso helped his squad tie Huddersfield by making a goal off of his face in a 1-1 draw Wednesday at Stamford Bridge in London, England.
The peculiar play occurred in the second half. Chelsea trailed Huddersfield 1-0 in the Premier League clash after Laurent Depoitre’s goal in the 50th minute.
About 12 minutes later, the Blues defender was hovering around the Huddersfield box. Fellow defender Cesar Azpilicueta sent a ball in from the right side on the play. The pass squeaked through the box before finding the boot of Huddersfield’s Mathias Zanka. The defender attempted to smash the ball clear from danger.
Instead, his rip hit Alonso directly in the face. The ricochet then went toward the Huddersfield net, beating Jonas Lossl to his left.
“We must respect Huddersfield’s plan,” Chelsea manager Antonio Conte told reporters after the draw.
“They started this game with one target in their mind – to take one point. They wanted to defend very deep, and we must give the best compliment to Huddersfield for this result. Great congratulations to them.”
Depoitre’s goal also wasn’t pretty, but put Huddersfield on top and also saved the squad from relegation out of the Premier League.
Midfielder Aaron Moy sent a long ball toward the box from midfield on that play. Depoitre caught up to the service, letting it bounce once before getting in a touch. Chelsea goalie Willy Caballero left his mark and clipped Depoitre on the play, but didn’t knock him down. Depoitre quickly recovered from the collision and tapped the ball into the empty net with his right foot.
The Blues take the pitch next against Newcastle at 10 a.m. Sunday at St. James’ Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Huddersfield battles Arsenal at 10 a.m. Sunday at Kirklees Stadium in Huddersfield, England.
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