Chelsea's troubles surfaced at Vicarage Road, with Antonio Conte's men looking sluggish throughout the fixture and falling apart in the final stages. Watford, who almost threw away three points by sitting too deep, battled to a brave, confidence-boosting win.
Overwhelmed by constant pressure when playing from the back, Chelsea also struggled in the absence of a defined centre-forward to build their attacking play around. When Giroud came on to lead the line in the second half, the visitors did improve slightly. But Conte has more than his attack to worry about, with the Blues conceding seven goals in their last two Premier League games.
The team's problems stem from the back, and other sides have realised if they press with enough desire they will effectively break down the reigning English champions. Watford did so to perfection, earning three merited points at Vicarage Road and leaving Conte cutting a forlorn figure on the Chelsea bench at the final whistle.
Ahead of kick-off, a torrid start to the year for both Watford and Chelsea had seen them get one Premier League win between them, with the hosts sacking their manager while talk that the Blues could part company with their title-winning manager is increasing of late. This performance will do nothing but threaten the already under-fire figure of Antonio Conte.
With pressure mounting for the Italian, new Watford boss Javi Gracia planned a masterstroke for his first home game at Vicarage Road, aiming to put as much distance between the Hornets and the drop zone. And the hosts took a page out of Bournemouth's book, matching Chelsea's formation with three at the back and holding a high line of pressure. David Luiz and Gary Cahill struggled to play the ball out from the back while Tiemoue Bakayoko gave the ball away in threatening positions as he sealed a first half to forget.
- Sluggish Chelsea -
An early gift from the Frenchman allowed Doucoure the first clear-cut opening of the game, but Watford's top goalscorer dragged his volley wide. Sustained pressure from the hosts continued to make life difficult for Chelsea who, without a reference striker up front and with Pedro, Hazard and Willian all kept quiet by superb man-marking, created very little in the final third.
A blazed effort over the bar from Willian was one of the few chances that Watford had to deal with, while Deeney and Richarlison came closest to making Chelsea pay. Bakayoko's evening got even worse when he was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence on Richarlison. With Watford on the front foot, it was only a matter of time before they made their numerical advantage count. Deulofeu was played through down the right side, Courtois came sliding out and the referee pointed to the spot.
There didn't seem to be much contact but the spot-kick was given and Troy Deeney stepped up to dispatch into the bottom left corner. Watford had a lead they had deserved after a brilliant first half, while Chelsea had their work cut out for them for the second period.
After the break, it was much of the same from the hosts, who did not allow Chelsea to wake up from their lethargic state. Deulofeu and Richarlison fired inches wide before Doucoure forced Courtois into action with a left-footed strike.
However, with 20 minutes still to go, Chelsea began to see more of the ball and Fabregas fired low at Karnezis to record Chelsea's first shot on target. They had not done much, but a stroke of genius from Hazard threatened to stymie a well-earned win for the hosts. The Belgian picked up the ball up around 25 yards out, cut inside and then fired a right-footed shot into the far corner, beyond the despairing reach of the diving Karnezis.
- Watford run riot -
But parity lasted approximately three minutes. Janmaat cut in from the right flank, playing a one-two with Pereyra in the box and dancing away from two tackles before coolly finishing into the bottom corner. The home crowd were sent into delirium when Deulofeu made it three just moments later, with a deflected shot beating Courtois.
The Blues had all but thrown in the towel by this point, but there was still time for a stunning strike from Pareyra, who fired across goal and into the far corner to seal a sensational win for Watford, who climb to 11th on the Premier League table. Chelsea remain fourth, but the battle for Champions League spots livens up.