Despite a lengthy delay due to a medical issue at Vicarage Road, Chelsea remained top of the Premier League when winger Hakim Ziyech scored a second-half goal to help the Blues clinch a 2-1 victory over Watford on Wednesday.
Also Read: Junior Hockey World Cup: India edge past Belgium 1-0, to meet Germany in semis
The game got off to a poor start for Thomas Tuchel's squad, with both teams being pulled off the field by the referee on 13 minutes when play was delayed due to an incident among the fans.
Also Read: IPL 2022 Retention: Why PBKS Didn’t Retain KL Rahul? Anil Kumble Reveals
At the moment, the score was 0-0. After around 30 minutes, the action was restarted.
Mason Mount, a midfielder, got the game started on 28 minutes when he scored the game's first goal. In the penalty box, teammate Kai Havertz received the ball and delivered a short pass to Mount, who side-footed into the bottom corner. Havertz appeared to have doubled Chelsea's advantage immediately after, but his goal was quickly disallowed due to offside.
On 42 minutes, Watford equalised when Emmanuel Dennis struck through the legs of defender Antonio Rudiger and into the bottom corner. In his last five Premier League games, he has scored four goals.
On the stroke of half-time, Moussa Sissoko had a golden opportunity to put Watford ahead when he found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, but he miskicked the ball wide.
On 72 minutes, Ziyech scored the game's only goal, converting a low cross from Mount.
Tuchel, on the other hand, was not pleased with the outcome, and the German was forthright in his evaluation.
"We were quite fortunate. Tuchel stated, "We should confess it." "There are moments when you require it. We couldn't get to this point today. This game had caught us off guard. We are the ones to blame.
"We were never able to find the appropriate mindset. It was a significant departure from the norm. In the first half, we gave up a lot of opportunities and didn't create anything. We were quite lucky to come out on top."
Chelsea has 33 points after 14 games in the Premier League, while City has 32 and Liverpool has 31.
Claudio Ranieri's team will be encouraged by their performance against the league leaders, despite the fact that they are only one position and three points above the relegation zone.