Chelsea Thump Watford To Move Third

By Max Wise

Chelsea took a big step towards Champions League football next season after brushing aside FA Cup finalists, Watford, 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The win moves Chelsea up to third on the table with 71 points, a place and a point above Tottenham Hotspurs, who lost 1-0 away to Bournemouth on Saturday.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, David Luiz and Gonzalo Higuain all found the back of the net in the second half after Watford proved stubborn to break down in the first.

Watford’s former Barcelona forward, Gerard Deulofeu, produced the game’s first effort in the 6th minute when he spinned on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area and unleashed a shot just wide of Kepa’s left-hand post.

The home side were then forced into an early change when French World-Cup winner, N’golo Kante, was replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 10th minute after suffering an injury.

Booed off at half-time, Chelsea came back from recess reinvigorated and took the lead in the 48th minute when Ruben Loftus-Cheek headed in Eden Hazard’s corner at the back post.

Watford yet again failed to deal with another Chelsea corner just three minutes later, allowing an unmarked David Luiz to head home another Eden Hazard corner for the second goal of the day.

Deulofeu sliced a shot across the Chelsea goal before Hazard toyed with the Watford defence to set up Pedro, whose shot was saved by Ben Foster in the Watford goal.

Gonzalo Higuain had a powerful drive tipped over by Foster in the 65th minute but the Argentine striker was not to be denied 15 minutes to full time when he chipped in Pedro’s through ball from a narrow angle past the on-rushing Watford goalkeeper.

Watford came close to pulling one back but Jose Holebas’ pile driver canoed off the Chelsea crossbar in the 78th minute.