Watford vs Chelsea LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Relive all the action as the Premier League leaders visited Claudio Ranieri’s side at Vicarage Road
Chelsea maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League as Hakim Ziyech came off the bench to secure a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Watford on Wednesday.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were not at their best at Vicarage Road but had enough attacking quality to emerge with three important points and stay ahead of Manchester City and Liverpool.
After a 32-minute suspension while a fan was treated for a medical emergency, Chelsea took the lead when Mason Mount coolly converted after a well-worked move in the 29th minute.
But Watford deservedly levelled before the break through Nigerian Emmanuel Dennis.
Ziyech came on for injured defender Trevoh Chalobah on the hour and struck the winner 12 minutes later with the outstanding Mount turning provider.
Chelsea lead the standings with 33 points from 14 games, with City on 32 and Liverpool on 31.
Claudio Ranieri’s side will take heart from the way they pushed the league leaders but are just one place and three points above the relegation zone.
Tuchel made six changes from the side that drew with Manchester United at the weekend and Chelsea looked disjointed for much of the evening.
Watford were the better team either side of the suspension but fell behind to Chelsea’s first move of quality.
The ball was played to Marcos Alonso down the left and he slipped the ball into Kai Havertz who shifted it across to the unmarked Mount who had time to pick his spot.
Watford responded well and equalised when Moussa Sissoko powered forward and played in Dennis whose shot took a deflection on its way past Edouard Mendy.
The hosts could have been ahead with Mendy making a fine save and Sissoko scuffing a decent opportunity.
The quality on Chelsea’s bench eventually told, however, as Ziyech came on to secure the points.
Mount was played into space down the left and his low cross was met by Ziyech whose powerful first-time shot beat Watford keeper Daniel Bachmann for pace.
Watford 1-2 Chelsea
86 mins: Watford have been unable to maintain the high press which disrupted Chelsea in the first half. Can they find a final push? Substitute Jeremy Ngakia tries to cut inside Loftus-Cheek in the box but the Chelsea midfielder steps in to win the tackle and draw the foul.
Watford 1-2 Chelsea
84 mins: Rose crunches into a tackle on Ziyech which leaves the Chelsea man needing some treatment. There’s been a fair bit of that tonight and Rose is booked.
Watford 1-2 Chelsea
83 mins: Lukaku has also made a big difference since coming on. He holds the ball up well in a central position before slipping it onto Havertz, who plays it on to Pulisic. The forward then looks to clip it back to Lukaku at the back post but Bachmann comes out to claim the ball.
Watford 1-2 Chelsea
81 mins: CHANCE! Ziyech almost wraps it up with his second of the night! Watford push forward before Chelsea scramble clear. Havertz does well to hold the ball up before picking out Ziyech with a clipped cross - but his header was straight at Bachmann!
Watford 1-2 Chelsea
78 mins: Now can Chelsea hold on? The introduction of Ziyech has improved them but this has been far from a vintage display.
GOAL! Watford 1-2 Chelsea (ZIYECH 72')
It’s the substitute who fires Chelsea in front! He starts and finishes the move following a cut-back from Mount!
Watford 1-1 Chelsea
69 mins: Havertz drives forwards with a sharp change of pace and suddenly space opens up for a shot. The ball takes a deflection but this time it carries it straight into Mendy’s arms. Azpilicueta makes way and on comes Lukaku, with Pulisic moving over to right wing-back.
Watford 1-1 Chelsea
64 mins: Ziyech’s first meaningful contribution sees the midfielder receive a yellow card for cynically stopping a Watford counter-attack. Lukaku is warming up and will surely be introduced shortly by Tuchel.
Watford 1-1 Chelsea
58 mins: Chalobah can’t continue - it looked like he had pulled his hamstring. Hakim Ziyech is going to come on to replace him.
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