#5 Watford’s decision to sit back costs them
Trending
For 65 minutes, Watford were very organised and disciplined in defence and in midfield – answering whatever questions Chelsea asked in attack. Miguel Britos – a couple of fouls apart – was composed alongside Seb Prodl at centre-back. When they had possession, they posed a threat to Courtois’ goal, going aerial with Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo as targets.
The move paid off for their goal, as Deeney forced Ivanovic to mark him for the cross, leaving Capoue beyond him free to volley past the Belgian keeper. However, their decision to sit back on that one goal lead and invite Chelsea pressure eventually came back to bite them.
They sat deep, allowed Chelsea to throw bodies forward and take the initiative. Chelsea ensured they did not miss the chance, scoring twice via substitute Batshuayi and Diego Costa amidst a plethora of goal-scoring opportunities to snatch the three points off Watford.
Ighalo and Deeney were effectively out of the game, while Watford’s defence ran out of steam in the latter stages. Conte’s side happily accepted the invitation, while a desolate Watford may well regret that decision to defend that precious lead when they should have looked to kill Chelsea off with a second goal.
