toptop
Watford
piled the pressure on Antonio Conte as a late flurry of goals secured a thumping
4-1 win over 10-man Chelsea on Monday Night Football.
On a miserable night for the Premier League champions, the out-of-sorts Tiemoue
Bakayoko was sent off after half an hour before Troy Deeney scored the opener
from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute.
Chelsea, who were beaten 3-0 at home by Bournemouth in their last game, looked
as though they might snatch a point when Eden Hazard scored a brilliant
equaliser in the 82nd minute.
Player ratings
Watford: Karnezis (6), Janmaat (8), Prodl (6), Mariappa (7),
Zeegelaar (7), Holebas (6), Capoue (7), Richarlison (7), Doucoure (8), Deulofeu
(8), Deeney (7)
Subs: Gray (5),Carrillo (5), Pereyra (6)
Chelsea: Courtois (4), Moses (5), Cahill (4), Luiz (4),
Azplicueta (5), Zappacosta (5), Bakayoko (2), Kante (5), Pedro (4), Willian (4),
Hazard (6)
Subs: Fabregas (5), Giroud (5)
Man of the match: Gerard Deulofeu
But Watford scored three times in seven minutes through Daryl Janmaat, Gerard
Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra to secure victory for new head coach Javi Gracia on
his home debut.
While it was a perfect result for Gracia, it is likely to raise even more
questions about Conte's future and how much longer he will remain in charge of
Chelsea.
The visitors were under pressure from the start, with Abdoulaye Doucoure
dragging a shot wide, Deulofeu shooting into the side-netting and Deeney missing
a glorious chance from a corner when he sliced off target.
Willian spurned a good opening at the other end when he fired over from close
range, but Chelsea otherwise rarely threatened.
They also lost possession too often, with the main culprit being Bakayoko, who
was shown two yellow cards in five minutes and dismissed on the half-hour mark
after catching Richarlison.
The first half got worse for Chelsea when Courtois came sliding out and caught
Deulofeu in the box. Deeney stepped up and dispatched the penalty with the
goalkeeper staying in the middle of the goal.
Watford went close to extending their lead in the second half as Deulofeu and
Richarlison both shot narrowly wide.
Chelsea did improve after the introduction of Olivier Giroud and it looked like
they might grab a point when Hazard fired in a fantastic shot from 25 yards.
But parity did not last long as Watford responded in stunning fashion.
Janmaat made it 2-1 in the 85th minute when he played a one-two, danced away
from a couple of tackles and finished into the bottom corner. Deulofeu then
fired in from Doucoure's through ball before Pereyra fired home in injury-time
to round off a thumping win.
Opta stats
Chelsea have now lost more league games this season (6) than they did in the
entire 2016-17 campaign (5).
The Blues have lost consecutive Premier League games by a 3+ goal margin for the
first time since October 1995 (1-4 vs Man Utd, 0-3 vs Blackburn).
All three of Troy Deeney's Premier League goals this season have been penalties
against 'big six' sides (Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea).
Three players have now received red cards for fouls on Richarlison this season
(Davinson Sanchez, Jonathan Hogg and Tiemoue Bakayoko), more than any other
player in the division.
Chelsea have been shown seven red cards in all competitions this season, two
more than any other Premier League side (Watford 5).
Man of the match - Gerard Deulofeu
Deulofeu was influential for Watford on his home debut. He won the penalty from
which Deeney gave the hosts the lead and had as many shots (4) and key passes
(4) as any other Watford player.
He capped an excellent performance by getting on the scoresheet late on.
What's next?
Chelsea are on Monday Night Football again next week when they host West Brom
while Watford travel to West Ham on Saturday.
Teams
Watford Karnezis, Mariappa, Prodi, Holebas, Janmaat, Capoue,
Doucoure, Zeegelaar, Deulofeu Carrillo 89), Richarlison (Pereyra 65), Deeney (c)
(Gray 90)
Subs Not Used Lukebakio, Ndong, Bachmann, Mukena
Booked Richarlison, Prodi
Goals Deeney 42 (pen), Janmaat 84, Deulofeu 88, Pereyra 90+1
Chelsea Courtois, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Cahill (c), Zappacosta,
Kante, Bakayoko, Moses, Willian (Fabregas 34), Pedro (Giroud 64), Hazard
Subs Not Used Caballero, Rudiger, Drinkwater, Emerson,
Hudson-Odoi
Booked Bakayoko, Luiz Fabregas
Sent Off Bakayoko 30 (two yellow cards)
Goals Hazard 82
Attendance 20,157
Referee Mike Dean