Monday Night Football treated us to more controversy and a five goal thriller. One side weighted with most of the goals and all the points. The other, at the brink of losing another manager maybe?
Chelsea go down to four goals with only one in reply – on the road against Watford. Gracia, handed a gift when Tiemoue Bakayoko was given his marching orders in the first half.
Split down the middle and filleted like a chicken breast – Watford used all the space afforded to them, after having an extra man on the playing field. Gerard Deulofeu, the new kid on Vicarage Road, was at the peak of his powers – and took the game to Chelsea.
It was through the winger, the Hornets was awarded a penalty. Troy Deeney’s, well struck spot kick from 12 yards out – made sure they went into the break, on the front foot.
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Watford 4-1 Chelsea match stats:
Watford | Stat | Chelsea |
| 4 | Goals | 1 |
| 45% | Possession | 55% |
| 79% | Pass Accuracy | 82% |
| 21 | Total Shots | 7 |
| 8 | Shots on Target | 3 |
| 6 | Corners | 2 |
| 18 | Tackles | 16 |
| 1 | Offsides | 1 |
| 11 | Fouls | 8 |
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 1 |
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Chelsea worked hard to deny the home side any goals until the 84th minute of the match. It was probably disappointing for Hazard and his teammates to go down by three immediate goals – after they equalised.
You could argue the game was over after Watford, had the one man advantage – but Watford only executed the Blues hopes late on the second half.
The Stamford Bridge side made it hard for the Hornets, and denied them for a large part of the match. But it was not a good night for Chelsea – as they went down to three goals in about ten minutes.
Watford’s 20 shots to Chelsea’s seven, provides the perfect picture to how bad it was for Conte.
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What the result means for the two clubs:
The Hornets put themselves in touching distance of, Everton and Bournemouth. The managerial change has counted in their favour. Showing better form and a more organised defense, gives the view of a successful change.
Still early days for Gracia and his men – after making it two games without any lossed, in the Premier League. Consistency has been the demise of the Hornets results. This should serve as a major boost in their pursuit of the form they possessed in the first part of the campaign.
Chelsea and Conte, take a knock and a big one at that. Falling out of the top three after their shocking loss against Bournemouth last weekend – they could have put themselves two points clear of Liverpool, and now have the worry of Tottenham creeping back into the top four.
It was a must win match for the previous champions – and judging from their most recent displays – they don’t give the impression of previously dubbed champions.