Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HAK’S ZIY FOR GOAL
Sub Ziyech rescues battling Blues
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.
On a long night extended half an hour by a medical emergency in the crowd, the grim reality of winter’s long haul kicked in for the Blues.
They have the quality to take the chequered flag in May, but spirited Watford – floundering just above the dotted line but rarely outplayed – reminded them there are no free hits at this level.
After a rash of early injury stoppages, both teams left the pitch when a fan was taken ill. Swift intervention by physios, doctors and first aiders in the Graham Taylor stand enabled the game to resume with the supporter’s condition said to be stabilised.
Watford ringmaster Claudio Ranieri - still remembered affectionately at Stamford Bridge for his four years at the wheel – 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 insists he laid the foundations for the Roman Abramovich era. Five titles later, Chelsea are one of European football’s superpowers.
On paper, this looked mission impossible for the injury-plagued Hornets. But Chelsea, complacent and sloppy, made a lousy start before the stoppage, and the delay appeared to draw the sting from Watford’s early fire. Once Mason Mount rattled the near post the Blues regained their swagger and were ahead inside half an hour. Mount supplied a cool finish after Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz carved a path into the box.
If Chelsea thought that would dampen Watford’s enthusiasm, they were mistaken and Emmanuel Dennis levelled with his sixth goal of the season, helped by a deflection off Antonio Rudiger on 43 minutes.