Mooy stars as Terriers hound Palace on EPL debut
A Joel Ward own goal and Steve Mounie's double saw Huddersfield Town win 3-0 on its Premier League debut at Crystal Palace, with Australia's Aaron Mooy looking every bit the star.
Huddersfield Town made a dream start to life in the Premier League as Steve Mounie's double helped ruin Frank de Boer's Crystal Palace debut with a 3-0 win at Selhurst Park.
Pegged as a relegation favourite after ensuring promotion via the Championship play-offs, David Wagner's men dictated matters in the first half and made top-flight history as they broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute, with Australia ace Aaron Mooy chief among the Eagles' destroyers.
Joel Ward's own goal saw Huddersfield become the first team to net its maiden Premier League goal in that manner.
The lead was doubled just three minutes later through Mounie's fine header and the hosts were lucky not to see De Boer's first game in charge take a further turn for the worse before half-time.
Palace did improve after in second half in a bid to avoid an opening-day defeat for De Boer, who was sacked after only 85 days in charge in his previous managerial stint at Inter Milan.
The efforts of Christian Beneteke and Wilfried Zaha were not good enough to haul Palace back into the game, and Mounie's assured first-time finish made sure of the points 12 minutes from time.
Tom Ince, the only player in the Huddersfield starting XI with Premier League experience, saw a right-wing cross fall to him inside two minutes, but could only direct his half-volley straight at Wayne Hennessey.
Huddersfield continued to have the better of the proceedings and, after Hennessey had comfortably kept out Philip Billing's long-range drive, the visitors found the net in the Premier League for the first time.
Cristopher Schindler flicked Mooy's corner to the far post, where Mathias Jorgensen's off-target effort found the net via the unfortunate Ward.
Mooy was the creator again as Huddersfield doubled its lead in much more aesthetically pleasing fashion.
The Australia midfielder produced an excellent left-wing delivery and Mounie rose brilliantly to power beyond a helpless Hennessey and into the top-left corner.
Jorgensen should have made it 3-0 when he was left unmarked at a corner, but the Denmark defender could only direct his header well wide of the target.
Zaha then spurned Palace's first real sight of goal as he pounced on a defensive mistake, only to see his low shot turned wide by Jonas Lossl and not receive a corner for his efforts and Christian Benteke headed wide from a corner just before half-time, with his subsequent frustration a fitting encapsulation of the mood at Selhurst Park at the interval.
Andros Townsend replaced the injured Luka Milivojevic at the start of the second half for Palace, and the hosts did the pressing early in the second half, Benteke superbly denied a diving save from Lossl after a Patrick van Aanholt corner.
Lossl produced a further demonstration of his reflexes to keep out a Zaha effort at the near post but only a fine recovery by Timothy Fosu-Mensah prevented Mounie from firing in again at the other end after Scott Dann had lost possession.
Dann blazed over in Palace's last chance to halve the deficit, with Mounie giving Huddersfield further reason for jubilation as he beat Hennessey's glove from Collin Quaner's pull back.
