Rating Chelsea's performance vs Watford based on 4 key factors

Chelsea defeated Watford 2-1 but by Thomas Tuchel's own admission, the Blues 'stole' three points.

Here we are trying to break down the Blues' performance on Wednesday night.

Starting line-up

Thomas Tuchel made six changes to the line-up from the Man United draw, completely overhauling the attacking line.

The riskiest choice was the midfield partnership of Saul and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, although Tuchel had close to no alternative as Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic were not ready to play.

It ultimately backfired, as Saul is still out of form and Loftus-Cheek looked exposed next to him. In addition, the left-hand side was successfully targeted by Watford, but more on that in the next section.

Score: 5/10

Defence

Chelsea were not ready for Watford's physical approach, and the weakest link was definitely down the Blues' left.

Just have a look at how many of Watford's attacks went through that area:

Marcos Alonso was under pressure, and Saul who played on the left of the midfield partnership rarely did enough to help him. No wonder so many chances came through that area.

Watford's goal was partly a consequence of Loftus-Cheek's mistake in the middle of the pitch but also a logical conclusion of a disastrous first half. Only when Thiago Silva came on at half-time, the situation was stabilised.

Score: 5/10

Finishing

According to Twitter account The xG Philosophy, Chelsea had an xG of 0.83, compared to Watford's 0.85 xG.

While the Hornets performed around par, the Blues overperformed thanks to quality finishes from Mount and, especially, Ziyech.

Other than that, Chelsea did not really have a lot of chances yesterday. It's not a positive sign in terms of the team's creativity, but the finishing was alright.

Score: 7/10

Substitutions

Thomas Tuchel has admitted that he had to choose between replacing Marcos Alonso and Saul at half-time.

He chose to sub Saul off because replacing Alonso at left wing-back would've been more difficult. Thiago Silva came on and performed admirably.

The next change was forced on Tuchel, with Chalobah limping off the pitch and Ziyech coming on.

However, the boss really threw a kitchen sink by replacing Azpilicueta with Lukaku - and the plan eventually worked as Chelsea found a late winner.

Score: 8/10

Overall score: 6.5/10