Three second-half goals at Stamford Bridge took Chelsea to third in the table and on the verge of sealing a return to the Champions League. Here’s how we rated each Blues player in the 3-0 win over Watford.
Did superbly to one-handedly claw away a Troy Deeney header arcing towards the top corner, but for all Watford’s first-half dominance, he did not have to do anything spectacular after that.
Looked a little uncomfortable at times against Gerard Deulofeu but did his usual bombing forward to offer an extra source of crosses from the right.
In for the injured Antonio Rudiger and after an initially testing first half, he settled down as the Blues seized control and looked increasingly assured.
Powered home a header from a corner kick routine moments after Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s opener to render the first 45 minutes meaningless – his stray first-half passes and struggles with Deeney forgotten.
A clumsy kind of day for the Spaniard, who was made to work hard in duels with Will Hughes, and had fewer opportunities to get forward than usual.
Guilty of some very ordinary passing, but industrious enough and played a part as Chelsea roused themselves from their first-half slumbers.
Unlucky to pick up a knock in the opening 10 minutes and made way for Loftus-Cheek.
Neat chip almost caught out keeper Ben Foster. The head-bandaged midfielder did some good work between the lines, showing solidity rather than adventure during Chelsea’s second-half revival.
Scooped a left-footed shot just over the bar in the first half and went even closer with a shot from outside the area which flashed just wide of the far post. Almost made it 3-0 with a low left-footer kept out by a diving Foster. Great assist for Gonzalo Higuain to make it 3-0.
Turned home a smart pass from Pedro but this was an otherwise underwhelming afternoon for the Argentinian. Early half-chance blocked, and a shot on the turn inside the box also forced a save from the Hornets keeper, but looked laboured at times.
If this is to be his final Premier League appearance for the Blues at the Bridge, the Belgian maestro served up a reminder of what Chelsea will miss. Wriggled past two defenders to fire at Foster, then provided two assists with perfect crosses for Loftus-Cheek and David Luiz. Almost claimed a third assist for Pedro. Majestic.
Pressed into action after only 10 minutes because of a Kante’s misfortune and although he did not shine during the team’s abject first half, he changed the mood with his far-post header to open the scoring.
Given 11 minutes at the end in place of Higuain, and had two good chances. Failed to connect properly with an attempted volley from a David Luiz cross, then swung a right boot at a Hazard cross, only to see the effort sail wide.
This post was last modified on 06/05/2019