Chelsea produced one of their most dominant performances of the season against FA Cup finalists Watford to take advantage of Tottenham’s latest slip up and move to third in the table with just a game to go.
The 3-0 scoreline suggests that the Blues never even had to break sweat in order to dispose of Javi Gracia’s high flying Watford side, but the first half went right down to the form book.
Troy Deeney bullied the Chelsea backline into submission, with David Luiz and Andreas Christensen being dragged across the pitch in search of runners off the ball, whilst loose possession ensured Eden Hazard and Pedro were left isolated for much of the half.
Two goals in three second-half minutes swung the game in Chelsea’s favour dramatically.
Having been second best for much of the previous 45, Maurizio Sarri instructed his players to start strongly, and they heeded his words to perfection as Ruben Loftus-Cheek, an early substitute for the injured N’Golo Kante and David Luiz both nodded home to put the Blues firmly in control.
Veteran striker Gonzalo Higuain grabbed just his fifth goal for the club with 15 minutes to play, latching onto Pedro’s slide pass to finish confidently, as Chelsea rounded off their last home game in a style unbeknown to a fanbase so starved of free-flowing attacking football this season.
Here’s how I rated the Chelsea players’ performance.
Kepa Arrizabalaga - 7
Made a couple of good stops, in particular when denying Deeney from close range – clawing his header off the line.
Cesar Azpilicueta - 7.5
A slow start to the game as was the case with the whole of Chelsea’s team, but he grew into it and began to dominate the ball aerially as well as completing three tackles and eight interceptions.
Andreas Christensen - 7.5
Christensen produced a similarly strong performance defensively in the second-half. Having been given the run around by Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra, Christensen was far more comfortable once Chelsea began pressing on the front, as it allowed him to step up and anticipate the play rather than drop off in fear of Watford’s pace out wide.
David Luiz - 8
Capitalised on Chelsea’s dominance to double their lead with a commanding header, his third goal of the season. Defensively he too was prone to giving Watford the freedom to attack at will, but having weathered the storm in the first-half, Luiz led by example to keep hold of the clean sheet. He then made way for Gary Cahill, late on, so the outcasted skipper could bid farewell to his fans.
Marcos Alonso - 7.5
He was defensively strong and for the first time in a while the stats showed that he had won more fouls than he’s given away, testament to his disciplined defensive display and marauding attacking presence.
Looked to break down Watford’s defence with little success in the first-half but as Chelsea began to control possession his attacking output increased and he produced three key passes, second only to Hazard’s six. The play ran through him, with his 73 touches only really matched by Mateo Kovacic on 66.
Mateo Kovacic - 7
As previously noted he too saw a lot of the ball, and whilst he struggled for large portions to convert this into meaningful attacking moves he did look to move the ball quickly whilst still helping to recover possession and turn the ball over when Watford looked to counter.
Pedro - 7.5
Played a lovely pass into the path of Higuain for the third Chelsea goal, and he contributed exceptionally well to the high press winning five tackles. His efforts in the press did not go to waste either as he quickly looked to release the ball or have a shot on goal instead of hesitating and surrendering possession.
Gonzalo Higuain - 8
A much improved performance was marked by the fact that he was not once caught offside. Whilst providing a focal point of Chelsea’s forward line, he also managed to bring others into play with two key passes supplementing his three shots.
Eden Hazard - 9
Another dazzling display from the Belgian who in truth only really got going in the second-half. His two assists now leave him top of the European standings for assists this season with 15.
Subs:
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 8.5, he’s now had a hand in five goals in his last seven appearances for Chelsea, and looks well on the way to becoming a permanent fixture in the side for next season. Another well taken header opened the scoring for the Blues.
Olivier Giroud – 6, produced three shots but none of which had the required quality to beat Ben Foster in goal. At a time where Chelsea were in complete control of possession he still only mustered ten touches.
Gary Cahill – N/A, came on for one last farewell, a somewhat forced send off that doesn’t truly reflect his legendary status at the club.