Chelsea were “lucky” to remain at the top of the Premier League after being given a scare in their victory at Watford, said boss Thomas Tuchel.
The under-par Blues needed a goal from substitute Hakim Ziyech to edge out their hosts after Hornets forward Emmanuel Dennis had cancelled out Mason Mount’s opener.
With title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool both victorious, Chelsea would have slipped to third had they drawn – but Ziyech ensured they still lead the way.
“We were not ready for this game,” said Tuchel.
“We are to blame. We never found the right attitude. We were very lucky to escape with the win.”
Watford had twice gone close to taking the lead when England midfielder Mount broke the deadlock with a first-time finish at the end of a lovely move involving Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz.
The Hornets equalised after Ruben Loftus-Cheek lost possession and Moussa Sissoko set up Dennis, who scored with a shot that deflected off Antonio Rudiger.
But having scored his side’s first, Mount then set up the winner by providing the pass for Ziyech to fire past Daniel Bachmann.
Chelsea’s fifth straight Premier League away win kept them one point clear at the top.
The game was halted for 32 minutes with the score 0-0 while a fan, who had suffered cardiac arrest in the stands, was stabilised.
Chelsea dig deep to stay top
In a bruising contest which featured seven yellow cards, Chelsea were a long way from their best.
But Tuchel’s side found a way to secure a hard-fought three points and maintain their advantage at the summit.
Even before the game was stopped in the 12th minute, Watford had twice gone close. But then Mount – who had earlier hit the post – swept the visitors into the lead.
Dennis’ fourth goal in five league games arrived shortly before half-time to lift the hosts, and it could have been even better for them.
Tom Cleverley found himself in a one-on-one with Edouard Mendy but slipped at the crucial moment after the Chelsea keeper came rushing out of his box.
It proved a costly miss as Ziyech, sent on after Trevoh Chalobah was injured, condemned Claudio Ranieri’s side to a sixth defeat in eight league games.
However, there were positives in defeat for Ranieri who, after last month’s win over Manchester United, saw another spirited home performance from his players.
“We must continue this way and sooner or later the points will arrive,” said the Watford boss, whose side remain 17th in the table and host second-placed Manchester City on Saturday.
Player of the match
HavertzKai Havertz
Watford
-
Squad number25Player nameDennisAverage rating
6.94
-
Squad number19Player nameSissokoAverage rating
6.53
-
Squad number7Player nameKingAverage rating
6.50
-
Squad number10Player nameJoão PedroAverage rating
6.24
-
Squad number5Player nameTroost-EkongAverage rating
6.20
-
Squad number8Player nameCleverleyAverage rating
6.18
-
Squad number15Player nameCathcartAverage rating
6.13
-
Squad number6Player nameLouzaAverage rating
6.11
-
Squad number21Player nameKiko FemeníaAverage rating
6.11
-
Squad number11Player nameMasinaAverage rating
6.00
-
Squad number3Player nameRoseAverage rating
5.85
-
Squad number26Player nameBachmannAverage rating
5.80
-
Squad number33Player nameKuckaAverage rating
5.58
-
Squad number2Player nameNgakiaAverage rating
5.44
Chelsea
-
Squad number29Player nameHavertzAverage rating
8.16
-
Squad number22Player nameZiyechAverage rating
7.26
-
Squad number19Player nameMount
Average rating7.07
-
Squad number16Player nameMendy
Average rating7.05
-
Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
Average rating6.69
-
Squad number4Player nameChristensen
Average rating6.68
-
Squad number9Player nameLukaku
Average rating6.46
-
Squad number10Player namePulisic
Average rating6.18
-
Squad number2Player nameRüdiger
Average rating6.01
-
Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Average rating5.99
-
Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
Average rating5.98
-
Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek
Average rating5.92
-
Squad number3Player nameAlonso
Average rating5.50
-
Squad number17Player nameSaúl
Average rating4.46
Line-ups
Watford
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 26Bachmann
- 21Femenía
- 5Troost-EkongBooked at 45mins
- 15Cathcart
- 11MasinaSubstituted forRoseat 12′minutesBooked at 84mins
- 6LouzaBooked at 45minsSubstituted forKuckaat 73′minutes
- 25Dennis
- 8CleverleyBooked at 84minsSubstituted forNgakiaat 85′minutes
- 19Sissoko
- 10João Pedro
- 7King
Substitutes
- 2Ngakia
- 3Rose
- 16Gosling
- 17Fletcher
- 18Tufan
- 27Kabasele
- 29Hernández
- 33Kucka
- 35Elliot
Chelsea
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 16Mendy
- 14ChalobahSubstituted forZiyechat 60′minutesBooked at 65mins
- 4Christensen
- 2Rüdiger
- 28AzpilicuetaSubstituted forLukakuat 69′minutes
- 12Loftus-Cheek
- 17SaúlBooked at 16minsSubstituted forThiago Silvaat 45′minutes
- 3AlonsoBooked at 45mins
- 19Mount
- 10Pulisic
- 29Havertz
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 5Jorginho
- 6Thiago Silva
- 9Lukaku
- 11Werner
- 18Barkley
- 20Hudson-Odoi
- 22Ziyech
- 31Sarr
- Referee:
- David Coote
- Attendance:
- 20,388
Match Stats
Live Text
-
Match ends, Watford 1, Chelsea 2.
-
Second Half ends, Watford 1, Chelsea 2.
-
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Marcos Alonso.
-
Attempt blocked. Kiko Femenía (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
-
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Foul by William Troost-Ekong (Watford).
-
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Édouard Mendy.
-
Attempt saved. Juraj Kucka (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
-
Foul by Christian Pulisic (Chelsea).
-
Emmanuel Dennis (Watford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
-
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Marcos Alonso.
-
Corner, Watford. Conceded by Hakim Ziyech.
-
Attempt blocked. Juraj Kucka (Watford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Joshua King.
-
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
-
Foul by Jeremy Ngakia (Watford).
-
Substitution, Watford. Jeremy Ngakia replaces Tom Cleverley.
-
Danny Rose (Watford) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
-
Tom Cleverley (Watford) is shown the yellow card.
-
Attempt saved. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kai Havertz with a cross.
-
Offside, Watford. Emmanuel Dennis tries a through ball, but Tom Cleverley is caught offside.
- Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before – here’s everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment