Chelsea player ratings vs. Watford: Lampard’s anniversary gift
By Ishan Shah
On Frank Lampard’s one-year anniversary as Chelsea manager, his side pulled off a dominant and much-needed victory against Watford.
After a disappointing loss to West Ham, the Blues bounced back in style. This victory was crucial for Chelsea in the race for a spot in the Premier League’s top four. With both Manchester United and Leicester City winning their respective games prior to Chelsea kicking off, Lampard’s men knew just how important today’s match was. Not one player had a bad game as Chelsea completed the league double over Watford, but how did the Blues perform on an individual level?
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Goalkeeper): 7
Kepa did not have much to do for the majority of the game, but was assured in his passing and did not take any risks. The Chelsea goalkeeper was forced to make a great save towards the end of the game by ex-Arsenal man Danny Welbeck. Kepa will be delighted with this clean sheet, but he must also credit the defenders in front of him.
Reece James (Right back): 8
James has had an extremely hard time since the restart of the season. His lack of confidence was clear for everybody to see in the opening stages of the game. Several misplaced passes, wasteful crosses and a few instances of absent-minded defending must not have helped his mentality. However, as the game went on James grew in confidence. In the second half especially, he displayed his phenomenal ability to cross the ball, showed great strength and defensive awareness. James also added additional height and muscle to the Chelsea side which may help them get rid of their set-piece woes.
Andreas Christensen (Centreback): 8
Christensen did enough to prove once again that he deserves to be a regular starter. The Dane is not the strongest, but he battled well against Troy Deeney. What Christensen is renowned for is his passing and he is clearly Chelsea’s best defender on the ball, completing 101 passes with an accuracy of 95.3 percent. Barring that one shaky moment against Welbeck towards the end of the game, he and Zouma looked untroubled for the most part—credit to them.
Kurt Zouma (Centreback): 9
Zouma showed today that he is clearly Chelsea’s most aerially-dominant defender, bossing Watford captain Deeney in the air and winning six out of eight aerial duels contested. If he continues performing this way, it could be hard for Antonio Rudiger to find his way back into the side. His presence in the box during set pieces—both offensive and defensive—proved to be extremely reassuring as he made three headed clearances and had one headed shot on target.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Left back): 9
Tasked with playing on the left today, you have to applaud Azpilicueta’s ability to perform well regardless of where he is on the pitch. Given how hard it is for a right-footed player to play as a left back, one can forgive some of his misplaced passes. However, what surprised me most about the captain’s performance was the fact that he provided four key passes. As always, Azpilicueta showed great stamina to run up and down the wing, even providing an important assist for Ross Barkley. Another great performance from Mr. Dependable.