excitement and drama in prospect tonight here at stamford bridge
in west london i'm derek ray joined in the commentary box by lee dixon
and no question this ought to be a game that gets pulses racing it is chelsea up against
watford yeah thanks derek i always get a buzz from being here the players will feel
the same i'm sure fast start always a good idea to impose yourself on the game straight from the off
but a gifted naturally left-footed player who can dominate any match
kai habits lee what do you expect we'll see from him today
well the more you give this lad the ball the better the team normally plays he switches the
ball he links play from left to right up and down the pitch he keeps possession a brilliant player
and this is how it looks for chelsea giorgina place alongside matteo kovacich in central
midfield and they line up with just the one striker looking to do a bit of damage
and so the initial 11 for watford if you like wingers you'll love this league yeah absolutely
i love to watch a winger play especially with pace and power the central strike will stay
more or less in front of the goal the support will be provided by the three central midfield players
the back four is pretty conventional but the full bats will be asked to support from behind
and they keep the ball advantage chelsea
avets
and a decent delivery just wanted to get it out of there
will hughes tom cleverley
chalabah what's he gonna do
verna and him with a real chance and easy for the keeper four attempt at a pass really
and he was in the right place to
intercept
in possession well that's how to break the spirit of the attacker chill well
now let's see about the cross and the no-nonsense clearance our play was allowed to carry on but now
that it's come to a halt a caution and over comes the corner well thumped clear thiago silva werner
rudiger has it verna combach wonderful block and he clears the danger
an awful lot of green space to run into
will hughes
forward cleverly
rather than a free kick it's advantage chelsea there to intercept
and he read it well defensively
they all know their roles as they apply the pressure timo burner
combat chance here's habit but it can't get through
did look as though they might be on to something for a second or so
chelsea really have been dominating possession but that doesn't lead to goals necessarily
they haven't created enough too slow up front midfield very average the coach he's not happy
at all he wants more from this team he's been admonished by the referee he's now got to
walk something of a tightrope yeah he knows exactly where he stands look at the referee
how he's told him off there no yellow card but certainly knows what the referee is thinking
can he convert and throwing himself up the ball
and firing it into the area well it's off target they were watching him like a hawk
the chelsea move still flowing advantage to them
covertich got to it easily the keeper
adam messina and the first 45 minutes have come and gone here at stamford bridge
as anticipated plenty of talking points so far and now the second half is underway
and tidally played will hughes strength and control a big part of his game
well they keep working away looking for an opening excellent challenge and a foul in
the opinion of the referee now what can they do from this free-kick situation
and the save made following the free kick and he was able to hang on to the ball
james and fed forwards
fed over towards the back post oh yes one nail as is and it doesn't come as a huge surprise
well here's the replay it's a really dangerous ball into the penalty area
and he gets up for the header and quite frankly it's a lovely finish
brilliant goal slightly different vantage point in terms of the goal that was scored
so the match has restarted one nil here
to win the ball
harvest
and they keep the ball advantage chelsea i think you've got to conclude that was good refereeing
a free kick in the end after initially playing advantage but it just wasn't there
well that could be his final rebuke i think and the referee's making that absolutely clear i like
that derrick good refereeing nice and strong told the player exactly what he was thinking
still a chance
not a time for cool heads well derrick we've just seen a great save that might
be the impetus they need as they haven't been at the best today
and time for the change now
have a bad pass it was
free kick to chelsea
the referee might well have been tempted to book him for that resisted the temptation
georginio
thiago silva rudiger has it ball lost by chelsea now inside the final 20 minutes of the game
no he's given the ball away unnecessarily
chill well played into the center and nothing positive comes of it unfortunately
will hughes forward cleverly deeney
this looks threatening
and chelsea have done it it's going to be so difficult to stop them now
well here's the replay it's a really lovely through ball and then through on goal
do you go for placement or do you go for power well he certainly wasn't messing around was he
absolutely smashes it past the keeper it's a really lovely finish
and they will make the change now it's going their way two-nil
only ten minutes remaining here really fine initial touch
just the challenge that was required options in the center and chelsea regaining possession
and if you've already received a yellow card you surely want to stay away from
that sort of challenge he knew the situation he was in already on a yellow
and now he's received a second one well you might say he has to make the challenge but he
doesn't just step back you don't need to make a challenge like that when you're on a yellow card
timo verna
when you're on a yellow card you've really got to tread oh so carefully
substitution for chelsea coming off the pitch number two antonio
coming on to the pitch he's played at shorts here marcus alonso he's got to have a go here
and the goalkeeper has outdone himself with that save
and he's fired over the corner punching it clear
chillwell verna
now kante
oh he's gone for goal well he couldn't quite keep it on target just wide
and there goes the final whistle all as well in the chelsea camp on the back of this result and
lee interested to get your assessment as always yeah fairly comfortable in the end wasn't it
thought they controlled the middle of the park for most of the game and going forward there
was some really lovely play too good result that was well one thing we often say about kai habits
is that he's so very hard to silence and that was the case in this game lee your assessment
well that was a really really good performance from the lad and