Chelsea bounced back from their humbling defeat to West Ham by emphatically beating relegation-threatened Watford at Stamford Bridge.
In a game already billed as ‘must-win’ following results earlier in the day, Chelsea quickly set about trying to break down Watford’s backline.
The pace and guile of Christian Pulisic was complimented by Mason Mount’s short, sharp interchanges and the pair struck up a productive relationship down the left-hand side. The opening goal, however, came from the left boot of Olivier Giroud.
The Frenchman combined with Ross Barkley to find the far corner of the net via a nick off the post. With the deadlock broken, Chelsea soon found their rhythm and when Pulisic was inexplicably taken out by Etienne Capoue, it was Willian who once again found the net from the penalty spot.
The game was all but decided by the time the two sides re-emerged for the second half, with Nigel Pearson’s men having resorted to a policy of damage limitation. But yet there was still time for Barkley to finish off Cesar Azpilicueta’s cut-back. The perfect reward for a dominant display both personally and collectively.
Here’s how we rated the Chelsea players after the game.
