‘BE BRAVE OR WE’RE SUNK’
Chelsea’s rejuvenated star admits: I’ve made mistakes but it has never distracted me.. I’m a professional and I have always worked hard
Giroud Willian Barkley
ROSS BARKLEY’S Chelsea career until now has been one of frustrating fits and starts.
There has been the occasional excellently-taken goal, an instinctive throughball, a scything run.
But too often games have passed the Liverpudlian by. Too often, under several Chelsea managers, he has been confined to the bench, seemingly not trusted to perform.
Then there were the off-field moments last year – the infamous chips in the back of a cab incident, and the dancing topless in a Dubai nightclub.
That has led to the former Evertonian, who cost Chelsea £15million when they signed him in January 2018, being touted as someone who could be moved on this summer – and linked with a move to West Ham. But suddenly, the 26-year-old is becoming an important player for boss Frank Lampard.
For the first time in his Chelsea career, Barkley has started three successive league games. He notched his fifth goal of the season as he grabbed the Blues’ third in stoppage time, and helped set up his team’s first goal.
It was a routine win which saw Chelsea bounce back from their midweek upset at West Ham, but it almost certainly secured a Champions League place for next season.
Barkley, who also scored the goal at Leicester last week which put Chelsea into the FA Cup semi-finals, said: “It is always good as a player to get a run of games. I worked really hard during the lockdown to make sure I was ready. That is paying off now because I feel really fit, really good. I just want to carry this on.
“It is great that the goals are going in as well. You are always pleased when there is an end product.”
And, looking back, he admitted: “We are all human. We make mistakes – and I am no exception. But what happened was not me taking any attention away from my football. It never did. I am a professional and always work hard. The boss was very supportive.
“I know that when you get older you have to be more aware. You have greater responsibilities. You can’t make mistakes. You have got to be more aware of what is needed as a player.”
Up until the restart, it had been the usual bitty season for Barkley – with only eight starts in the league. But on Saturday he was a man revitalised, making
more attacking passes (47) than any other Chelsea player.
It took the Blues just under half an hour to break through, after
Ben Foster had denied Olivier Giroud
– but Barkley’s clever pass put the Frenchman clear, and his angled shot beat the Hornets keeper. Three minutes before half time, the game was over as a contest, when Etienne Capoue’s stupid barge into Christian Pulisic enabled Willian to coolly slot away his penalty.
Watford fought back in the second half and Chelsea’s third goal did not come until stoppage time, when Barkley skilfully crashed home Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross (left).
The only worry for Chelsea was the hamstring problem which forced N’Golo Kante off 12 minutes from time.
Barkley added: “We needed to bounce back. We want to finish as high as possible.”
WATFORD manager Nigel Pearson has told his team they must be brave to beat the drop.
The Hornets meet Norwich tomorrow and Newcastle on Saturday in must-win games, after defeat to Chelsea left them with only one point from four matches since the Premier League restarted.
Pearson said: “Time is not on our side in terms of matches, so we have to be brave – and I thought we were.
“We can build on that performance. We showed a lot of discipline, but we didn’t always take advantage of key moments that we had.
“We have to take the positives from Chelsea into the next games. Only we can make sure we stay in the Premier League.”