Huddersfield Town was the outright underdog as they hosted the high flying Manchester United at John Smith's Stadium on Saturday evening. The hosts were the first English side to take three league titles in consecutive seasons before Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal later matched the feat. The Terriers headed into the match after failing to win any of their last six contests in all competitions.
Manchester United visited the club that had been absent from English topflight competition for over 45 years only seeking a victory to bridge the gap Manchester City had set.
The contest was the Red Devils' third consecutive away match after a 0-0 draw at Liverpool last weekend and a narrow 0-1 victory over Benfica in midweek.
Huddersfield took the lead before the break
Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy, who was only returning to the starting squad after missing the previous match with an injury opened the scoring in the twenty-eighth minute for the host. Laurent Depoitre doubled the hosts' lead after five minutes to ensure that David Wagner's side went to the break with a comfortable two goals advantage.
The visitors found the trip to the Premier League newcomers very hectic as it came within just three days after playing a Champions League game in Portugal. Jose Mourinho's side suffered a major setback in the game as Phil Jones was withdrawn out of the contest due to injury with only twenty-three minutes of the match played.
Jose Mourinho handed Victor Nilsson Lindelof the second appearance in Premier League to replace the injured English defender but that was the turning point as the hosts exploited the inexperienced Swedish defender to score two quick goals.
Manchester United made a double substitution at the onset of the second half with Antony Martial making way for Marcos Rashford while Juan Mata coming out for Henrik Mkhitaryan.
The changes were not enough to help the Red Devils break the Terriers' obstinate defense with the visitors only realizing a single goal in the whole half.
Red Devils now trail City by five points
The last Manchester United squad to beat Huddersfield Town away from Old Trafford had legendary players like George Best, Bobby Charlton, and Denis Law.
Before the match, only Manchester United and their city rivals, Manchester City who had not tasted defeat in Premier League since the season began. The stunning defeat at the hand of a Yorkshire club meant that only Manchester City who currently leads the league standings remains undefeated this season.
Manchester United dropped the first two points when they were held 2-2 by Stoke City in the fourth fixture, then the last weekend's 1-1 stalemate at Liverpool also saw the Red Devils lose another critical two points. With Manchester City dismissing Burnley yesterday, Manchester United has 20 points and now behind the title race by a massive five points after only nine league fixtures.