Hakim Ziyech’s second-half shot helped Chelsea to a close 2-1 victory over Watford in their Premier League clash on Wednesday. Mason Mount and Emmanuel Denis exchanged shots in the first half before a well-invested effort from Morocco decided the match.
Watford’s many 1-2 times saw Thomas Tuchel’s side retain top spot with a hard-fought win # See https://t.co/BcfBPxZztu
The first half was full of drama on and off the field. About 13 minutes into the game, an ambulance forced the fans to take a long break during which both teams left the field. However, before and after the delay, Watford were completely dominant and created many of the better chances.
Thus, Chelsea took the lead through Mount against a series of games after the restart, just before the half-hour mark. However, the hosts did not give up and their positive intent was rewarded as they equalized through Dennis in the 43rd minute.
Watford continued to enjoy the upper hand in the second half, creating a number of imaginative chances. The home side were left to rue their missed chances when Chelsea regained the lead through Zech in the 72nd minute.
The league leaders, under considerable pressure from the hosts, managed to hold on to that lead, and went on to three valuable points. In that regard, here are the Chelsea player ratings from the match.
Edward Mendy: 6/10
Mendy kept Chelsea in the game with a series of brilliant defending, commanding his area extremely well. The Senegalese international made a total of 6 saves in his impressive performance.
Tarweeh Chaluba: 5/10
Chalobah started on the right side of Chelsea’s back three, moved into the middle in the second half and ended up injured. The youngster was strong in defense and looked confident throughout his hour on the field.
Andreas Christensen: 5/10
Christensen scored in Chelsea’s back line and was calm and composed while defending. Dean started the game as a central defender in the Blues’ back three, but ended up on the right after a tactical change.
Christensen also finished with the most assists (48) in the game.
Antonio Rudiger: 5/10
Roediger eventually overcame a shaky start to grow into a game, often helping Alvin face the menacing threat of Dennis.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 5/10
The Chelsea captain replaced Reece James at right-back and produced a particularly reserved performance. He was replaced by Lukaku for around 20 minutes towards the end of the second half as Chelsea tried to attack.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek: 5/10
Playing in the middle of the field in the absence of more experienced options, Loftus-Cheek could not capitalize on his chances. The young man fought to keep the property and his opponents bypassed him with relative ease.
Saul Nguez: 4/10
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