David Wagner claimed Huddersfield’s retention of Premier League status was a more remarkable achievement than last year’s promotion after his players secured the point they needed at Chelsea to extend their stay into a second season.

The draw, secured courtesy of Laurent Depoitre’s opening goal and some staggering defending throughout a one-sided contest, effectively condemned Swansea City to the Championship while leaving Chelsea’s own hopes of securing Champions League qualification hanging by a thread. Wagner almost lost his tracksuit trousers as his players gave him the bumps in front of the delighted away fans, and then gave his squad 48 hours to celebrate their eye-catching success.

Huddersfield seal Premier League survival and dent Chelsea ambitions Read more

“This is an absolute overachievement, bigger than the promotion last season,” he said. “Last year we were predicted to be relegated from the Championship and we got promoted. This season we were predicted to be a team relegated by miles, and I understand it. We work under circumstances which are not even Championship circumstances. But part of our DNA, the Huddersfield Town DNA, is to try it. To have passion, desire, spirit ... how big you are doesn’t count for everything.

“We did it on our own. We didn’t rely on anybody else. We did it with our result, in this week with games against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal ... it’s just unbelievable. For sure Chelsea were the better team and we had Lady Luck on our side. We saw top, top quality in Chelsea’s side, but we saw desire, spirit, great attitude and an unbelievable workrate on our side, and sometimes that’s enough. Today was a stolen point but, to be perfectly honest, I don’t care. It feels like another trophy.”

Asked how he planned to celebrate with the squad, Wagner replied: “The guys just said we cancelled their flight. They want to go back by coach. They have 48 hours and what they say we’ll do. We’ll go back by coach.”

All three sides promoted last May have now survived in the top division with Town, like Brighton and Newcastle, having hardly spent any time at all in the bottom three. “We were never really near the bottom, apart from one match week by goal difference, and always collected consistently points,” added the German. “I knew it would be tight for sure, and I never doubted my players’ mental spirit. Even after five defeats in a row, we came back. Around Christmas I said if it was a final against Arsenal on the last day, I’d take it. But now we can play that game with total freedom and give Arsène Wenger all the focus he deserves after 22 years in the Premier League.”

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Chelsea trail Liverpool by two points, and must win at Newcastle and hope Brighton achieve an unlikely victory at Anfield to pluck a top‑four finish from a mishmash of a campaign.

“I’m realistic,” said Antonio Conte, whose side summoned 22 shots at goal but only scored when Mathias Jørgensen’s shot cannoned in inadvertently off Marcos Alonso. “At the end of the season, you finish in the position you deserve, and we dropped too many points. It is not the first time that we have not been clinical and suffered.”