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The nature of his injury remains unclear, but it raises concerns over his availability for Saturday’s clash at Old Trafford.
Barely days after getting humbled by Bournemouth, Chelsea were on the wrong end of yet another skewed scoreline as Watford ran riot late in their Premier League fixture at Vicarage Road to clinch a 4-1 win.
If the home defeat at the hands of the Cherries had worried the Blues faithful, then Monday’s night result will have them panicked for very little went right for Antonio Conte’s men from the off.
Summer signing Tiemoue Bakayoko, who has flattered to deceive so far, was sent off on the half-hour mark for lunging in on Watford winger Richarlison after losing possession to make the it an uphill task for the visitors.
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Hornets captain Troy Deeney would convert a penalty on the stroke of half-time after new boy Gerard Deulofeu was brought down by Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois inside the box and the home side deservedly held on for a 1-0 lead at the break.
Chelsea held the edge in terms of ball-retention, but it was the Deulofeu-inspired Watford side that always looked more dangerous.
With club-record signing Alvaro Morata still out with an injury, it was Eden Hazard who was leading the line for the Blues as ‘false-nine’ and the Belgian would score a marvellous goal to seemingly ensure a share of the spoils with less than 10 minutes remaining.
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The Hornets were stung into action, pun unintended, and would take the lead via a fine solo strike from fullback Daryl Janmaat in the 84th minute.
Javi Garcia’s side, however, weren’t done for the night and would extend their lead via their new recruit Deulofeu, who bamboozled two Chelsea defenders with a slaloming run before firing a low shot past a despairing Courtois four minutes later.
On any other day, Hazard’s goal would have been the highlight but Watford ensured the Belgian’s strike would be resigned to a mere footnote as they added a fourth in injury-time via Roberto Pereyra to send the home crowd into raptures.
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