HAKIM HAMMER
Sub’s super strike ends Hornets fight
NOBODY said winning the title was easy – and Chelsea are determined to do it the hard way.
Until substitute Hakim Ziyech broke Watford’s thrilling resistance with a first-time finish into the roof of the net from 12 yards,Thomas Tuchel’s front-runners had to dig deeper than on any previous excursion this season.
They have the quality to take the chequered flag next May, but spirited Watford – floundering just above the dotted line but rarely outplayed – reminded them there are no free hits at this level. For those with an appetite for a contest, Watford ringmaster Claudio Ranieri – still remembered affectionately at Stamford Bridge for his four years at the wheel in SW6 – had jogged the memories of Chelsea fans in his pre-match propaganda.
By beating Liverpool on the last day of the season, and qualifying for the Champions League, the Tinkerman said he laid the foundations for the Roman Abramovich era. That victory turned an oligarch’s window shopping in west London into inevitable retail therapy – and five titles later, Chelsea are one of European football’s superpowers. And on paper, this looked like a mission impossible for the injury-plagued Hornets that would make even Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg think twice. But Chelsea, complacent and sloppy, made a lousy start before the extended stoppage when a fan was taken ill appeared to draw the sting fromWatford’s early fire. Once Mason Mount, above, had rattled the near post from a forbidding angle, seven minutes after the match was rebooted, the Blues regained their swagger and they were ahead inside half an hour.
England midfielder Mount supplied a cool finish after Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz had carved a path into the box.
If Chelsea thought that would be sufficient to dampen Watford’s enthusiasm, however, they were mistaken.
Emmanuel Dennis, one of the bargains of the season at just £4.5million, claimed his sixth goal of the season with the help of a telling deflection off Antonio Rudiger two minutes before the break – only the sixth time Thomas Tuchel’s blue wall had been breached in 14 games.
And Blues messiah Tuchel was so concerned by the home side’s resistance that he withdrew the woeful Saul Niguez at the break for the insurance of Thiago Silva’s defensive know-how.