Watford 1-2 Chelsea, Premier League: Post-match reaction, ratings

It looked like the game might be a walk in the park after Jorginho unlocked Watford’s three-man defense with a perfect sliderule pass just five minutes into the game — Tammy Abraham making the perfectly timed run, finishing with the perfectly weighted lob — but the hosts slowly grew into the game and came close to finding an equalizer before half-time.

Of course, it helped the Ben Foster pulled off not one, not two, but three world class stops in the first half alone, saving shots from Abraham, Pulisic, and Mount, in that order, to keep the scoreline close.

Watford came out with purpose and intention to start the second half, and a crucial block from Zouma (one of several from him on the night) was needed to maintain Chelsea’s slim lead. Foster then conjured up another great save on Mount, before Pulisic finished off a great ball across the six by Abraham. No stopping that one!

And there was seemingly no stopping Chelsea either, until we decided to stop ourselves, playing into trouble in our own penalty area. Deulofeu, applying the pressure, then took a step and a tumble over Jorginho’s half-tackle, which VAR Mike Dean decided was enough for a penalty, much to the detriment of football in general (actual referee Anthony Taylor did not think it was anything). Deulofeu converted with aplomb, setting up a grandstand finish.

And what a finish it was, with Ben Foster almost truly turning into a superhero and scoring the equalizer in the seventh minute of added-on time (after just 5 minutes added on). But Kepa made the HUGE save to preserve the three points.

Phew.

Carefree.

• One change from last weekend, with Emerson returning from injury to replace Marcos Alonso, who had started a team-leading eight in a row in all competitions.
• Lampard a little slow with his substitutions today, all in the final 10 minutes.
• Willian ankle knock eventually caught up with him at the end. Hopefully nothing too bad.
• Fifth straight win in the league!
• With Arsenal dropping two points at home to Wolves, Chelsea move six points clear of the Gunners in fifth.
• With Leicester only playing tomorrow, away to Crystal Palace, Chelsea up into third, at least temporarily!
• Jorginho’s fifth yellow card of the season (for timewasting, I guess?) means he misses next weekend’s home game against Crystal Palace.
• Next up for Chelsea: Ajax at home on Tuesday
• KTBFFH

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