Chelsea won against Watford at Vicarage Road on Boxing Day with a margin of 2-1. With this win, Chelsea stayed at the fourth position in the League Table with 40 points in 19 encounters so far. They are still 11 points behind the League leaders Liverpool after this match. However, Manchester City again lost against Leicester City on the same day. So, the Blues are only 4 points behind them and they are 6 points behind their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal dropped two points against Brighton and Hove Albion today while Manchester United sealed an easy victory against Huddersfield Town. Arsenal remained at the fifth position in the League Table with 38 points in 19 encounters while Manchester United stayed at the sixth position with 32 points in same number of matches.
Maurizio Sarri made no changes in the starting lineup of Chelsea in this match. Willian and Pedro started at both the wings while Eden Hazard was deployed in the false nine role. Kepa Arrizabalaga kept his place under the bars for the Blues. David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger were there in the central defense while Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta started at both the flanks in the defense. Jorginho were given the role of deep lying midfielder while N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic were there as two attacking midfielders.
Chelsea started off the match in their own style. They kept the ball possession under their control. Cesar Azpilicueta provided a brilliant ball towards Eden Hazard; but the Belgian was unable to make a contact with the ball to guide it past the Goalkeeper. Willian also missed an open net opportunity to make it 1-0 for the Blues. It was a tight angle; but unfortunately Kabasele hurt himself as he slided towards the post. He was taken to the hospital in between the match.
However, it was Eden Hazard who gave the lead to Chelsea in the first half. Chelsea took the advantage of a mistake of Watford. Mateo Kovacic followed the ball perfectly and passed it towards Eden Hazard. Eden Hazard rounded off the Goalkeeper and guided it towards the goal to make the scoreline 1-0 for the Blues. Pedro was subbed off in the first half with a hamstring injury. Callum Hudson Odoi took his place in the side. Watford made it 1-1 with a great strike of Pereyra from the set piece movement. The ball was provided by Holebas in this occasion. The first half ended with a scoreline of 1-1.
In the second half of the match, Chelsea were awarded a penalty as Eden Hazard was fouled in the penalty box by a Watford defender. Eden Hazard calmly put Chelsea ahead in the match again with a brilliant penalty kick. Emerson Palmieri came in for Callum Hudson Odoi at the dying minutes of the match while Mateo Kovacic was also subbed off to give Ross Barkley an opportunity to prove himself. Chelsea will now face Crystal Palace on Sunday at Selhurst Park and Maurizio Sarri’s men will be eyeing to finish the year on a high note.
