A gritty encounter at Vicarage Road saw Chelsea’s momentum halted once again, having to settle for a 0-0 draw with Watford early this morning.
The Blues found themselves on the back-foot and pushed back early on as the hosts controlled the attacking momentum. Continuously driving the ball into the 18-yard area, it seemed only a matter of time before Odion Ighalo would find a breakthrough, yet each time he tried to weave his way into shooting space there was a blue shirt blocking the path.
Despite the pressure from the Hornets though, the best chance of the first-half may have fallen to Diego Costa, who controlled a long ball and outmuscled two defenders before putting a shot just wide of the post.
Guus Hiddink’s men came out from the break with more composure and began to mount their own attacking pressure, with Watford hardly having a sight on goal in the late stages. Oscar should have put the Blues ahead with a sliding effort on a largely open net, while Branislav Ivanovic’s 78th minute shot from point blank range forced a magnificent save from Huerelho Gomes.
Chelsea’s desperation for a win grew inside the last 10 minutes, but Quique Flores’ men had dug in their heels , a draw seeming just on both parties in the end.
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No lack of fight on the pitch
With imposing figures on both sides of the pitch, a hard shove from Costa to Sebastian Prodl inside the opening 10 minutes gave us a hint to what kind of contest this would be. Their battle would be heated to say the least, but with the likes of Troy Deeney, Ivanovic and John Obi Mikel not afraid to throw their weight around, a total of 23 fouls committed over the 90 minutes made the game very stop-and-start.
Things nearly boiled over in first-half stoppage time and it was Costa once again at the centre, exchanging jabs with Juan Carlos Paredes and knocking the Watford defender to the ground when the ball was nowhere close. Both players received yellow cards, while Quique Sanchez Flores was quick to try and calm the temper of his fellow Spaniard Costa.
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The fairest result
Considering how good Watford looked in the first-half and conversely, how little influence Chelsea let Ighalo have after the break, neither side could really complain about leaving with a point in tow. Watford’s Nigerian talisman had five attempts on goal before the break and zero in the second-half, during which visiting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was not tested at all.
At the other end of the pitch, Gomes may have had his best individual performance of this campaign. The Brazilian recorded six saves for the match, most coming in the last 30 minutes when the champions were at their sharpest, including brilliant denials of Ivanovic and Eden Hazard.
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Two steps back for the Blues?
Although still yet to see a Premier League defeat under Guus Hiddink, every time that a corner seems to be turned in their challenging 2015-16 season, no sooner do Chelsea stumble at another hurdle. A domestic win over Arsenal and a thumping of MK Dons in the FA Cup were causes for optimism, yet at Vicarage Road there was no urgency among the players to make a statement and Watford were largely allowed to control the attacking momentum until late on.
Slow starts have crippled the Blues on many occasions this season, seemingly not realising how bad the situation was until 2-0 down in a match, which could have happened here if Ighalo had a more fortunate day. The result leaves Chelsea still in 13th place and while the talent is there, is the confidence high enough to deal with the important fixtures against Manchester United and PSG that loom on the horizon?
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