In an end-to-end match, Chelsea beat Watford 1-2 at Vicarage Road.
The match was feisty and open, settled by action just one minute before half-time and then one moment of madness in the second. But what did we learn?
1. Hazard’s hundred
The idea of playing the Eden Hazard as a “false nine” was born out of necessity, but as they say that is the mother of invention. Was it wise to make Hazard play through the middle? Well for large swathes of the first half in particular the answer was no. He was quiet and had even missed a tap-in from two yards out.
But then Chelsea pressed in midfield and launched a counter-attack, and with Hazard running in the open field suddenly the value of having their brilliant Belgian in the middle became astoundingly obvious. Hazard rounded the goalkeeper with comical ease to open the scoring with his 100th Chelsea goal, and even though Watford equalised, Hazard was ignited.
Eden Hazard has been directly involved in more Premier League goals than any other player this season:
18 games
It really is Hazard SZN. pic.twitter.com/3CqGgMFmk8
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) December 26, 2018
In the second half Hazard was sizzling. Dancing away from defenders, coming deep to start attacks before running away into space with Watford defenders flailing in his wake. He moved on and off the ball with brilliant focus, and it was his run in behind the Watford defence that won the penalty which Hazard himself dispatched with confidence to win his side the match and begin his second century of Blues goals.
2. Ben Foster decisively damaging
They always say that goalkeepers should be decisive. That the best ones make a decision and act on it very quickly and with great gusto. They attack forwards, clearing out whatever is in their way to get to the ball. Well, tonight against Chelsea, Ben Foster showed how that can backfire.
You see, it’s all well and good a goalkeeper being decisive when they make good decisions. Alisson has improved Liverpool because not only is he a decisive presence but he does the right thing. Jan Oblak does the same for Atlético Madrid. Ben Foster, however, is utterly decisive whilst also making stupid decisions.
Take Chelsea’s first goal; by rushing out like he did, Foster made Hazard’s job so much easier. A natural dribbler, Hazard breezed by the Englishman like he wasn’t even there and tapped into an empty net. Had Foster held his line and forced Hazard to shoot, something the Belgian is less comfortable doing, then Watford may not have fallen behind. And on Chelsea’s second goal, well, he gave away the penalty by doing the same thing and thundering out from his goal with all the confidence, finesse and effectiveness of a drunk bison.
Sometimes it’s okay to take a moment, Ben.
3. Hudson-Odoi gives hope
Maurizio Sarri has been a wonderful success so far at Chelsea. If there was one criticism of him it would be that he hasn’t given Chelsea’s incredibly talented youngsters enough of a go, especially as they have produced whenever called upon in the Europa League.
Well, today when Pedro went off injured, many would have expected Sarri to call on a more experienced head. But no, he thrust 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi into the side without a moment’s hesitation.
The young Englishman didn’t exactly set the game alight (although one run highlighted both his blistering pace and baffling ability to control the ball at such speeds) but he put in a solid display, working hard defensively and always offering himself as an option.
He was subbed off with five minutes left having picked up an injury, which ended things on a sour note, but for Sarri to address his major flaw by showing so much trust in Hudson-Odoi in a critical game was huge.
4. Giroudeja vu
The reason Olivier Giroud left the comfort of Arsenal is because he wanted to play more. He was worshipped at the Emirates but found himself stuck in a supersub role which frustrated him even though he was excellent at it (at the end of 2017/18 a whopping 25.3% of his Premier League goals had come off the bench) but of course everyone wants to start.
This season it appeared things would be different. Alvaro Morata switching from no. 9 to the no. 29 was almost a pre-season admission that he lacked the kind of killer instinct needed to start, and Giroud had prove at the World Cup that he can play a valuable team-role even if he’s not scoring. And sure enough he started things off playing the attacking pivot, allowing Eden Hazard to thrive alongside him.
But as time has worn on, he’s slowly slipped back to the bench. Now Eden Hazard is playing through the middle, Giroud is once again sat watching from the pine, waiting for his moment to shine, wondering if he’ll have to move again if he wants to start.
5. Chelsea still have work to do
For all the progress Maurizio Sarri has made thus far for Chelsea, the Watford game was a clear sign that there is still a long, long way to go before the Blues are anywhere near the finished article. Their movement in the final third is sorely lacking without Pedro, who picked up an injury in the game and will now miss an unspecified amount of time.
Their midfield rotations aren’t quite working. N’Golo Kanté hasn’t yet settled into his role as a box-to-box midfielder. Although he bagged a great assist today there has been a troubling lack of production from Mateo Kovacic (and, to be fair, Ross Barkley). They quite clearly need a striker that can both hold the ball up and be a genuine goal threat.
There’s work to be done, but the Blues are at least back to picking up wins.
The post Watford 1-2 Chelsea: five things learned as Hazard’s hundred seals all three points appeared first on Squawka News.
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