Watford 1 Chelsea 2
Eden Hazard leads Blues to hard-fought win with brilliant brace
Belgian wizard was at his very best as Maurizio Sarri's men bounced back from Leicester defeat with much-needed victory
Belgian wizard was at his very best as Maurizio Sarri's men bounced back from Leicester defeat with much-needed victory
EVEN when he’s employed as a ‘false nine’, the truth will always out for a player as good as Eden Hazard.
The Belgian scored twice to lift the mood for Maurizio Sarri’s Square Peg FC, where not one but two Footballers of the Year are being forced to play out of position.
Hazard makes little secret of the fact that he dislikes playing as a centre forward, yet still he struck twice - a neat first-half finish followed by a second-half penalty he won and then converted - to see Chelsea through a difficult fixture.
Chelsea had been battered by Watford here last season and arrived here on the back of a shock home defeat by Leicester which seriously jeopardised their top-four ambitions.
And this victory was not without its elements of fortunes - not least when Watford’s Gerard Deulofeu was wrongly denied a penalty just before Hazard’s spot-kick winner.
Yet this was a Christmas fixture wrapped in litmus paper and Sarri passed the test - just.
The Italian was booed by some of his own supporters when he substituted teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi in the closing minutes, having given the England Under-18 World Cup-winner a first Premier League outing of the season as a first-half replacement for the injured Pedro.
And the jury is clearly still out on a man hailed as a master tactician at Napoli but who sometimes seem to over-think this game.
Sarri clearly doesn’t fancy either of his orthodox centre-forwards, Alvaro Morata - who did not make the bench here - or Olivier Giroud, leaving Hazard to paly down the middle.
And he employs N’Golo Kante on the right of his midfield three rather than as the anchor man.
Yet he got away with it here on a night when the Blues were often unsettled by the robust honesty of Troy Deeney & Co - a team who so often ask blunt questions of the elite.
While the Premier League’s crisis detector vans had parked themselves firmly outside the Etihad Stadium, Chelsea’s form was also cause for concern.
Three defeats in six league fixtures, the absence of a world-class centre forward and the nagging suspicion that rival managers were beginning to solve the puzzles set by ‘Sarri-ball’.
Vicarage Road staged the nadir of Antonio Conte’s reign last February when the Blues were hammered 4-1.
Conte was lamest of ducks from that point onwards - despite winning the FA Cup - but it was the night when Watford boss Javi Gracia truly announced himself.
Last night, the Hornets made a pre-match presentation to Chelsea coach Gianfranco Zola to recognise the Italian’s achievements in reaching the 2013 Championship play-off final as manager here.
Watford’s owners have been through eight managers in the five years since Zola’s departure but Gracia has presided over a period of rare stability.
While Pedro got the ball rolling by playing a smart one-two with William and drilling wide, it soon became untidy and gaffe-ridden fare.
Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga committed to the first clanger with a duffed clearance that Deulofeu failed to capitalise on.
The Blues immediately broke and Willian rounded Ben Foster only for his shot shot to strike the foot of the post - swiftly followed by Watford defender Christian Kabasele, who crashed into the uptight and soon had to be substituted.
Sarri’s men were pinging it about pleasantly without any particular place to go on their satnav and a grumpy away support were soon urging them to ‘attack, attack, attack!’
Watford were mixing it plenty - Deeney winning a shoulder-charge here, Etienne Capoue producing a stirring last-ditcher there.
Hazard miskicked from four yards out when Cesar Azpilicueta delivered the whippage from the right.
And the Belgian only really looked happy when he was able to drop deeper and run at the opposition.
After Pedro was taken away on a stretcher and replaced by the popular young flyer Hudson-Odoi, Chelsea made the breakthrough.
Watford were caught dawdling in midfield and when Capoue was dispossessed, Kovacic was soon slipping one through for Hazard to round Foster and find the net.
Yet even an injury-time opener was no guarantee of a half-time lead - and within two minutes, Deeney was winning a Godzilla header and Kepa was spreading himself to deny Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The resulting corner was played short and from a Jose Holebas centre, Pererya leathered in a 20-yard volley, not quite in the Andros Townsend league but not far short.
Early in the second half, it was a tale of two penalty shouts.
First David Luiz, outpaced by Deulofeu, barged his tormentor in the back - only for ref Martin Atkinson to turn down Watford pleas, have seemingly made his mind up about the forward’s tendency towards the horizontal.
Within two minutes, Jorginho’s moment of improvisation unlocked Watford. A scooped pass released Hazard who was clearly upended by Foster, this time Atkinson not hesitating in pointing to the spot.
Hazard stroked home his penalty and celebrated with a relieved travelling support.
Willian and Kante could both have put clear water between the sides yet both shot wide and Chelsea were almost made to pay when Deeney skied one from close range.
