LATE BLITZ SINKS BLUES
Another humiliation for 10-man Chelsea
When things start to unravel at Chelsea they often do so at an alarming rate and an air of impending doom clung to Antonio Conte as Watford kept scoring.
Any old defeat would have been bad enough for manager Conte on the back of last week’s 3-0 humbling at home by Bournemouth.
But this was a wretched result, born of another feeble performance from the Premier League champions.
They have won only two of the last 10 games in all competitions and their status in the top four has become precarious, a pressure point which never fails to escape owner Roman Abramovich.
Conte’s team were not a side with his trademark intensity even before Tiemoue Bakayoko was sent off, leaving them to play for more than an hour with 10 men.
They seemed to be on their knees by the time Roberto Pereyra lashed the fourth past Thibaut Courtois in the first minute of added time.
Bakayoko did not help. he was awful for half an hour and then collected two yellow cards inside five first-half minutes. Watford soon took advantage of the extra man and went ahead with a penalty converted by Troy Deeney.
It was only when Olivier Giroud was thrown on for his debut and Chelsea adopted a direct and aerial approach did they finally threaten. eighty minutes had gone by before they summoned their first shot on target, a drive by Cesc Fabregas that was saved by Orestis Karnezis.
Out of nowhere, eden hazard offered hope. Suddenly the Belgian conjured a brilliant curling shot which levelled the game but almost immediately they collapsed at the back.
Daryl Janmaat sailed through to restore Watford’s lead, trading passes with substitute Pereyra before beating Courtois with a low shot arrowed into the corner.
Gerard Deulofeu, who was outstanding on his home debut, added a delicious third and Pereyra completed the rout.
For Javi Gracia it was a fabulous start on his first home game as Watford manager. Gracia was afforded a pre-match ripple of applause by a Vicarage Road crowd who know better than to get too carried away. Their managers do not tend to hang around for long.
The same could be said for the visitors. Conte is under pressure, clearly dissatisfied with his squad and seemingly spoiling for a fight with the Chelsea board.
Injuries are starting to take their toll. Andreas Christensen and Ross Barkley are the latest casualties, both absent with hamstring injuries, and Marcos Alonso was given the opportunity to rest. Pedro hobbled off in the second half. It meant right back Davide Zappacosta played on the left and David Luiz returned to start his first Premier League game since October.
Chelsea suffered without the pace of Christensen against Bournemouth last week and they were again missing their old solidity. Deulofeu and Richarlison caused problems with their positive running and Bakayoko started the game in careless fashion, not for the first time since his arrival from Monaco.
More than once he conceded possession in his own half, although his second yellow card was certainly unfortunate.
he did not win the ball from Richarlison in midfield and his tackling technique made it look like a bit of a stamp but he did not catch the Brazilian striker. nevertheless, Richarlison rolled around clutching his ankle and Mike Dean produced a red card.
To get Fabregas into midfield, Conte replaced Willian, who had been the only one of his team to manage anything like an effort at goal until that point. Chelsea fans jeered the decision and sang Willian’s song and things got worse for Conte as he fumed on the touchline. There was a lecture from Dean as he contested another decision and then the penalty conceded before half-time.
Janmaat teased a long pass into the channel on the right and Deulofeu was far too quick for Courtois, who raced out of his goal. Deulofeu was there first, touched the ball away and was wiped out by the momentum of the goalkeeper’s slide.
This time, there was no dispute and Deeney stepped forward to give Watford the lead, wheeling away to celebrate with a middlefinger salute.
Victor Moses launched a threatening counter-attack in stoppage-time at the end of the first half which culminated in Pedro firing over. Otherwise, the champions created very little and found it difficult after the interval. hazard in a central role was easily smothered and the second half followed a similar pattern.
Moses and Marvin Zeegelaar clashed heads as they challenged for a Zappacosta cross but Chelsea rarely got close to the Watford goal until Fabregas tested Karnezis with 10 minutes to go.
hazard’s moment of magic gave them hope of a point but the hope killed them. Within two minutes they were trailing again and the champions were relieved when the final whistle put them out of their misery.