Chelsea 4 Watford 2 – five things we learnt: Michy Batshuayi is only good off the bench, Cesar Azpilicueta is Chelsea’s Mr Dependable and all aboard Richarlison’s rollercoaster
It was a thrilling affair at Stamford Bridge this afternoon as Chelsea came from behind to break Watford hearts
MICHY BATSHUAYI was the star of the show as his two goals off the bench helped Chelsea to a 4-2 win against Watford.
The Blues were 2-1 down to Marco Silva's outfit before his introduction, but a neat header and a poked finish either side of Cesar Azpilicueta's header sealed the three points.
The 4-2 scoreline was incredibly harsh on Watford, after Abdoulaye Doucoure and Roberto Pereyra had nudged Watford into a 2-1 lead to cancel out Pedro's 12th-minute worldie.
Here are five things we learnt...
Batshuayi is only good off the bench
He might not be right happy about it, but Michy Batshuayi is Chelsea's best weapon from the bench.
Today he was introduced to replace the ineffective Alvaro Morata, and less than 10 minutes after coming on, he had equalised for 2-2.
He then turned out to be The Blues' hero after notching his second for 4-2 after Cesar Azpilicueta had put them ahead.
HAIL, CESAR Chelsea 4 Watford 2: Cesar Azpilicueta grabs dramatic late winner for hosts to down exciting Hornets in Stamford Bridge thriller
There is no doubting the Belgian has a predator's touch, but when he gets his chances from the off, he simply fails to shine.
Since the start of last season, only Arsenal Olivier Giroud, with seven, has scored more goals as a sub than Michy Batshuayi, with five.
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You can always rely on Cesar Azpilicueta
Cesar Azpilicueta really has become Chelsea's Mr Dependable after John Terry made his Stamford Bridge exit.
For years now he has played at the level of one of the Premier League's best defender - but it was at the other end of the pitch where he mattered most today.
As Watford looked set for a well-deserved point from the clash, he leapt up at the back post to head Chelsea into a 3-2 lead.
Bakayoko is a league below Matic
Tiemoue Bakayoko revealed this week that he is "not like Nemanja Matic" - and in today's clash against Watford that was pretty obvious.
The French midfielder tried to explain that he is a different kind of player to Matic, but in reality he is still well below the levels Matic brought to Chelsea game-on-game.
And all that goes to show is the madness in not only Antonio Conte selling Matic in the summer, but selling him to a title rival.
He looks like he should dominate the central midfield area, but backwards passes and stumbling to the floor seemed the order of the day for Bakayoko today.
Chelsea miss John Terry
Chelsea went in at the break level at 1-1 after conceding a goal right on half-time.
Clearly that gives a terrific boost to the side scoring, so what is needed is for the opposition to come out with a cool head and get back to business.
But today, Chelsea conceded to go 2-1 down with just four minutes of the second half played.
Clearly there is some strong leadership missing in the back line. Antonio Rudiger looks nervy, David Luiz is still inconsistent and Gary Cahill is missing someone - John Terry.
The Chelsea legend would have been one of the key voices in the dressing room at half-time, galvanising the spirit, then collaring players who weren't doing their jobs.
Richarlison - sublime to the ridiculous
There's no doubting Watford have landed a major coup with their £11million purchase of Richarlison, but Watford fans will be on a roller coaster with him this season.
He tricked and turned down the left all game, giving Cesar Azpilicueta a tough time of it.
But he missed two absolute sitters that would have seen Watford pulling away from the Premier League champions.
One was a fluff wide of the post when all alone, and the other was a header in the centre of the goal, again left alone, which flashed wide.
