Watford vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
Follow all the latest updates as the champions visit Vicarage Road
A potentially pivotal day in the title race, which began in east London before late drama at Wolverhampton, ended with Manchester City fans singing “We are top of the league” into the cold evening air at Vicarage Road. Chelsea’s defeat at West Ham opened the door and City swaggered through with a dominant 3-1 win over Watford, most notable for the joyful brilliance of Bernardo Silva.
If Mohamed Salah is the early frontrunner for the Premier League’s player of the season, Bernardo is his nearest rival making a concerted charge. The Portuguese scored two sublime goals here, the first exhibiting his delicate touch in tight spaces, the second showing off the accuracy of his unerring left foot. City rarely rely on the gift of a single star but sometimes one comes to the fore – think of Kevin De Bruyne in 19/20, or Ilkay Gundogan last season – and this feels unequivocally like the year of Bernardo.
Follow all the latest rection below to Man City’s win at Watford.
West Ham 0-0 Chelsea
1 min: Chelsea find space out on the left early on as Alonso slides it forward to Mount in the channel. His England teammate and close friend Declan Rice clears at the front post, with Mount crossing from a similar area to where he set up Ziyech’s winner against Watford.
KICK-OFF! West Ham 0-0 Chelsea
The players take the knee before Mason Mount gets us underway at the London Stadium.
West Ham vs Chelsea
The returning Jorginho leads Chelsea out onto the pitch at the London Stadium for this top-four Premier League battle. West Ham need to rediscover the form which saw them defeat Liverpool in a 3-2 thriller before the international break, with Moyes’ side winless in three since then. As a result, Chelsea have been joined by Manchester City and Liverpool in what increasingly looks set to be a three-way Premier League title race. The Hammers will be looking to disrupt that once again, however, ahead of Liverpool and City’s matches later in the day.
Kick-off is next, and it should be a cracker.
West Ham vs Chelsea
West Ham manager David Moyes speaking to BT Sport on his side’s run of three Premier League games without a win and the tactical switch he has made ahead of Chelsea this afternoon:
“After the last international break we didn’t come back as well as we would have liked. We had more players away that usual and I think that’s a reason for it, but we’ve been missing chances too so that doesn’t help.
“The reason for the two changes was mainly for tactical reasons to play against Chelsea, to try and contain them and cause them some problems. Try and negative their strengths and what they do.
“We’ve got to work hard against the goals but we’ve been making chances - we just haven’t been converting them.”
West Ham vs Chelsea
It’s not just an important Saturday for Chelsea, but a huge weekend for the club as a whole with the women’s team taking on Arsenal in the FA Cup final at Wembley tomorrow.
Chelsea were recently awarded ‘Club of the Year’ at the Ballon d’Or for having the most players nominated for both men’s and women’s individual awards - and the club could finish the weekend celebrating yet more success between the two teams.
“It’s something that the club represents, it’s about winning and making big games like this,” Chelsea’s Millie Bright told The Independent this week.
“Getting to play at the best stadium in Wembley is incredible and it’s a real mark for women’s football - looking back over the years and seeing how far the game has come.
“It’s ultimate pride for me and passion for the cup. To keep driving the game forward and excitement for the next generation.”
Full interview here:
Chelsea’s Millie Bright: ‘You want the FA Cup final to be intense’
Exclusive interview: Fresh from captaining England, the Chelsea defender is relishing the return of fans at Wembley for the biggest match of the domestic season
West Ham vs Chelsea
David Moyes has backed Michail Antonio to return to goalscoring form and continue his impressive record in London derbies. The striker has made an excellent start to the season but has failed to score in West Ham’s last matches but has contributed towards 10 goals in his last 11 games against London rivals.
“I think when you’re a centre-forward we can think of many who go through a barren spell and don’t quite get the goals and it’s not going in for them,” Moyes said.
“I mean, Mic been a little bit unlucky, he had a really good header the other night [against Brighton] that the keeper made a save from. Mic is really important for us, he is a focal point for our team.
“We’ve needed him over the last couple of years playing as a centre-forward. We’ve missed him when we have not had him so I’m hoping we can get him back into scoring ways and into top form.”
West Ham vs Chelsea
Mason Mount was another Chelsea player to make a decisive contribution in the win at Watford, with the England international scoring one and setting up the other in the 2-1 win.
Chelsea have won eight of the nine matches Mount has started in so far this season, drawing the other, while the club’s win rate drops to 46 percent when he starts on the bench but doesn’t feature.
“It’s very hard to drop him because even when he has not-so-good games, you still always get full energy, positivity and a wonderful approach to the game,” Tuchel said.
“He is very passionate and has almost a deep love with the game, always ready to give everything to contribute fully. That’s why it is hard to drop him but sometimes we do.
“He came back from an injury and we felt him a bit tired, then he also had his tooth surgery so sometimes we have to and it’s the same criteria for everybody, to fight for their place. This is where we are.”
West Ham vs Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel has rewarded Hakim Ziyech for his recent contributions with a start at West Ham. The Moroccan has found form after an interrupted start to the season, with two goals and two assists in his last five club matches in all competitions and Tuchel praised the forward when looking ahead to the trip to West Ham yesterday.
“I like him. I can feel it that he feels better now. It took him a long time. He was always very ambitious with his shoulder injury but I could feel that the 100 per cent he could give was not the 100 per cent of his top level. Now he feels much better and I can feel it.
“He smiles, he’s happy, he is decisive. He had huge influence now from the bench against Leicester and in Watford. We had two matches in between those when he played from the start, against Juventus and Man United.
“Hakim is in a good shape, is in good form and a good state of mind.”
West Ham vs Chelsea: Team news
As expected, Reece James and Jorginho return for Chelsea, while Thomas Tuchel brings Hakim Ziyech into his front three after scoring the winner as a substitute against Watford. He joins Mason Mount and Kai Havertz - and that means Romelu Lukaku has to still do with a place on the bench.
West Ham make two changes from the 1-1 draw with Brighton and it looks like David Moyes has opted for a change in formation, too, matching up with Chelsea’s system. Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma drop out as defender Issa Diop and Manuel Lanzini come in.
West Ham vs Chelsea: Confirmed line-ups
West Ham: Fabianski; Coufal, Diop, Dawson, Zouma, Johnson; Soucek, Rice; Bowen, Lanzini; Antonio
Chelsea: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; James, Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Ziyech
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies