Watford 1-2 Chelsea: Blues player ratings as league leaders grind out a hard-fought win | Premier League 2021-22

Hakim Ziyech’s second-half strike helped Chelsea secure a narrow 2-1 win over Watford in their Premier League clash on Wednesday. Mason Mount and Emmanuel Dennis had earlier traded first-half strikes before the Moroccan’s well-taken effort decided the game.

The first half was packed full of drama, both on and off the field. With about 13 minutes played, a medical emergency in the crowd forced a 30-minute stoppage during which both teams went off the pitch. Before and after the delay, however, Watford were completely dominant and created much better chances.

As such, it was against the run of play that Chelsea took the lead through Mount post-restart, just before the half-hour mark. The hosts did not let up, however, and were rewarded for their positive intent as they regained parity through Dennis in the 43rd minute.

Watford continued to enjoy the upper hand in the second half, creating several presentable chances. The home side were left to rue their missed opportunities as Chelsea regained the lead through Ziyech in the 72nd minute.

The league leaders managed to preserve this lead under considerable pressure from the hosts, coming away with three valuable points. On that note, here are the Chelsea player ratings from the game.

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Edouard Mendy: 6/10

Mendy (R) was superb in goal for Chelsea

Mendy kept Chelsea in the game with a string of excellent saves, commanding his area extremely well. The Senegalese international made six total saves in his eye-catching performance.

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Trevoh Chalobah: 5/10

Chalobah started on the right of Chelsea’s back three, moved up into midfield in the second half and ultimately went off injured. The youngster was solid in defense and looked confident throughout the hour he spent on the pitch.

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Andreas Christensen: 5/10

Christensen slotted straight into the Chelsea backline and was calm and composed while defending. The Dane began the game as the central defender in the Blues’ back three but finished out on the right after a tactical reshuffle.

Christensen also finished the game having completed the most passes (53) of anyone in the game.

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Antonio Rudiger: 5/10

Rudiger overcame an uncertain start to ultimately grow into the game, often helping Alonso out in dealing with the formidable threat of Dennis.

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Cesar Azpilicueta: 5/10

The Chelsea skipper replaced Reece James in the right wing-back position and delivered a characteristically assured performance. He was replaced by Lukaku with about 20 minutes to go in the second half as Chelsea looked to attack.

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek: 5/10

Playing in midfield in the absence of more experienced options, Loftus-Cheek could not make the most of his opportunity. The youngster struggled to retain possession and was bypassed with relative ease by the opposition.

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Saul Niguez: 4/10

Saul’s struggles to come to grips with the pace and physicality of the English game continued in this match. The Spaniard, who formed part of a rather ineffective Chelsea midfield, was taken off at half-time after receiving a first-half booking.

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Marcos Alonso: 5/10

The Spaniard was given a torrid time by Dennis and spent most of the game chasing the Nigerian up and down the pitch. However, Alonso did contribute offensively, playing a key role in both Chelsea goals.

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Mason Mount: 8/10

Mount shone in his excellent attacking performance in the game

Mount was the star performer for the visitors, scoring the first goal and setting up the second. Most of Chelsea’s attacks seemed to flow through him, and he delivered when needed.

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Kai Havertz: 5/10

Havertz was often left isolated up top as Watford dominated proceedings for most of the game. Despite setting Mount up for the opener, the German did not seem to be on the same wavelength as his fellow attackers.

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Christian Pulisic: 5/10

Starting in the front three and ending up at right wing-back, Pulisic put in a hard-working shift that also showed his versatility.

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Substitutes:

Thiago Silva: 5/10

The experienced Brazilian came on at half-time to help shore up the Chelsea defense and provide much-needed solidity.

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Hakim Ziyech: 6/10

Ziyech proved to be Chelsea's match-winner as he scored an excellent goal

Ziyech put in an entertaining 30-minute second-half cameo, scoring the match-winner and even finding time to pick up a booking.

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Romelu Lukaku: 5/10

Lukaku played the final 20 minutes and barely featured as most of the action came at the other end of the pitch.