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5 talking points from Watford 4-1 Chelsea: Pressure mounts on Conte
Pressure on under-fire Chelsea boss Antonio Conte intensified after they crashed to
a
heavy defeat at Vicarage Road.
Eden Hazard's superb solo effort had looked like earning the 10-man Blues a point
after he cancelled out Troy Deeney's first-half penalty.
However, Janmaat put the Hornets back in front soon after before Gerard
Deulofeu
and Roberto Pereyra wrapped up victory for the hosts.
Conte's side were force to play more than an hour a man short after Tiemoue
Bakayoko was given his marching orders for a second booking.
Here's five talking points from the game:
1. If Bakayoko is the answer, what was the question?
It is fair to say Tiemoue Bakayoko has yet to win over Chelsea fans since his £40
million move from Monaco last summer.
And his red card, after a mistake-riddled half-hour at Vicarage Road, will do
Eden Hazard's superb solo effort had looked like earning the 10-man Blues a point
after he cancelled out Troy Deeney's first-half penalty.
However, Janmaat put the Hornets back in front soon after before Gerard
Deulofeu
and Roberto Pereyra wrapped up victory for the hosts.
Conte's side were force to play more than an hour a man short after Tiemoue
Bakayoko was given his marching orders for a second booking.
Here's five talking points from the game:
1. If Bakayoko is the answer, what was the question?
It is fair to say Tiemoue Bakayoko has yet to win over Chelsea fans since his £40
million move from Monaco last summer.
And his red card, after a mistake-riddled half-hour at Vicarage Road, will do
nothing
to help sway the jury's deliberations.Bakayoko can have few complaints after his two bookings, five minutes apart, for
poor challenges on Etienne Capoue and Richarlison.
Neither challenge was outrageous, but both smacked of a player yet to come to
terms with the Premier League's relentless physicality.
2. Don't cock the firing pin yet, Roman
According to the Ministry of Mischief, all is not well behind the scenes at Chelsea
and manager Antonio Conte is in the frame to get his old job back as Italy's
national coach.
Owner Roman Abramovich has exercised his trigger finger at this stage of the
season before, notably in disposing of 'Phil' Scolari nine years ago and Andre
Villas-Boas in 2012.
But later this month, Conte should get a chance to knock Barcelona off their perch
in the Champions League when Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez come to Stamford
2. Don't cock the firing pin yet, Roman
According to the Ministry of Mischief, all is not well behind the scenes at Chelsea
and manager Antonio Conte is in the frame to get his old job back as Italy's
national coach.
Owner Roman Abramovich has exercised his trigger finger at this stage of the
season before, notably in disposing of 'Phil' Scolari nine years ago and Andre
Villas-Boas in 2012.
But later this month, Conte should get a chance to knock Barcelona off their perch
in the Champions League when Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez come to Stamford
Bridge in the last 16.
And no disrespect to Hull City, but a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals is there for
the taking nect week.
Even the greediest, most gluttonous owners would normally settle for two trophies
and a top-four finish.
If there was any doubt about the loyalty to their leader among travelling disciples
from west London, they broke into noisy support for Conte in the opening seconds.
3. Worst Hammy United
David Luiz started his first Premier League since October 28 and didn't look as
though he enjoyed the experience.
Chelsea were forced to rearrange the furniture after wing-back Marcos Alonso
was
ruled out with a “slight” strain,nationalto the colossal injury list which has left
Conte's high-intensity training methods under the spotlight.
Currently there are seven confirmed cases of twanged hamstrings at Stamford
Bridge, and Ross Barkley – who joined the sicknotes last week – is believed to be
ruled out with a “slight” strain,nationalto the colossal injury list which has left
Conte's high-intensity training methods under the spotlight.
Currently there are seven confirmed cases of twanged hamstrings at Stamford
Bridge, and Ross Barkley – who joined the sicknotes last week – is believed to be
the eighth victim of Chelsea's hammy curse.
4. Blue is the colour for Richarlison
Watford's Brazilian discovery Richarlison has revealed he regularly goes round to
Chelsea defender David Luiz's house for barbecues and to exercise his thumbs on
the PlayStation console.
Another Chelsea player, Willian, often makes up a holy trilogy of Brazilians, and it
would be no surprise to see all three on the same side in the Premier League next
season.
Richarlison was unimpressed when the Hornets sacked head coach Marco Silva
last month, admitting: “Marco is the person who is least to blame (for bad results)
but he was the one who paid the highest price. The ones on the pitch were the
players, not him.”
4. Blue is the colour for Richarlison
Watford's Brazilian discovery Richarlison has revealed he regularly goes round to
Chelsea defender David Luiz's house for barbecues and to exercise his thumbs on
the PlayStation console.
Another Chelsea player, Willian, often makes up a holy trilogy of Brazilians, and it
would be no surprise to see all three on the same side in the Premier League next
season.
Richarlison was unimpressed when the Hornets sacked head coach Marco Silva
last month, admitting: “Marco is the person who is least to blame (for bad results)
but he was the one who paid the highest price. The ones on the pitch were the
players, not him.”
5. Watford fans believe in Gino
Just in case there are any non-believers out there who haven't yet got the
message:
Just in case there are any non-believers out there who haven't yet got the
message:
Watford fans back owner Gino Pozzo's decision to fire Marco Silva 15 days ago.
Not for the first time, Hornets diehards in the Rookery unfurled an industrial-size
banner bearing an image of the Harvard-educated Italian, who is now on to his
Not for the first time, Hornets diehards in the Rookery unfurled an industrial-size
banner bearing an image of the Harvard-educated Italian, who is now on to his
10th head coach in fewer than six years at Vicarage Road.
The players decorated Javi Gracia's first home game in charge with a first half
The players decorated Javi Gracia's first home game in charge with a first half
brimming with endeavour. If those 45 minutes continue to be the yardstick, Watford won't go down.
Copyright reserved Maverick Entertainment ©2018
Copyright reserved Maverick Entertainment ©2018
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