After two back-to-back Premier League defeats tensions were running high at Stamford Bridge as Watford arrived to face the champions.
Antonio Conte reverted back to a 3-4-3 system with Pedro coming into the side and Tiemoue Bakayoko passing a late fitness test.
Andreas Christensen dropped to the bench with the back three being made up of Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger.
Goals from Pedro and Michy Batshuayi came either side of goals from neat finishes from Abdoulaye Doucouré and Roberto Pereyra, before Cesar Azpilicueta and another from Batshuayi secured all three points with minutes to play.
Here’s what we learned from the game:
Pedro takes his chance
The Spaniard was a constant menace for Watford, with his typical dazzling runs and ability to find space in the final third.
He took his goal excellently and it helped settle some early nerves in and around the Bridge.
The former Barcelona man has been on the fringes of late with Conte looking to pack the central areas of midfield. He’ll be hoping he can keep his place in the team after this performance.
Bakayoko not 100%
Bakayoko was originally a doubt for the early kick-off but was named in the starting XI and the Frenchman showed signs of rustiness from the off.
A number of misplaced passes and heavy touches throughout the game allowed Watford to pounce.
Unlike the chant that has followed him over the last couple of weeks, he does give the ball away.
He looked a shadow of the player that dominated the midfield against Atletico Madrid and the best is clearly yet to come from the Frenchman as injuries play their part at Stanford Bridge.
He came in for a lot of criticism during the game and it was understandable, but judgements should be reserved until he is fully fit.
Azpilicueta’s performance deserved a goal
Cesar Azpilicueta scored the winning goal for Chelsea late on and the Spaniard put in a performance worthy of three points.
Playing as a right wing-back has often limited him and Chelsea previously, but Azpilicueta got at the Watford defensive from the get-go.
Perhaps Watford playing a similar system gifted Azpilicueta a little more room but got forward when needed and his delivery wasn’t bad either.
Nobody looks unhappy
Throughout the week, reports suggested that the Chelsea players were losing faith in Conte, but that was clearly not the case.
You only have to look at the celebrations from the goals on Saturday to see he has their support and they are very much playing for him at the moment.
The Italian head coach changed the game with his substitutions, bringing Willian, Davide Zappacosta and of course Batshuayi off the bench. All three played their part in the two late goals, with the latter netting twice.
After back-to-back defeats, it is now about how the Blues build on this and make up for the dropped points.
