Watford 2-2

Independent:

Oscar’s penalty slip has Chelsea still struggling
Chelsea 2 Watford 2
Steve Tongue Stamford Bridge

Guus Hiddink’s second coming seemed unlikely to be as straightforward as his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, and yesterday’s events confirmed it. While it is true that had Oscar not slipped and skied a penalty or Nemanja Matic not given away a ridiculous one earlier, Chelsea would have won, much of the team’s frailty that undermined Jose Mourinho was still in evidence.

For all the excellence of Willian and the more coherently directed aggression of Diego Costa, the defence not only proved unable to hold a lead but fell behind themselves by conceding twice in the space of little more than quarter of an hour on either side of half-time. Even after Costa’s second goal brought them level again, the striker was lured into his one indiscretion, collecting a yellow card that will rule him out of tomorrow’s trip to Manchester United – where there will be a chance to prove which of the mighty have fallen furthest. For all United’s woes, the Premier League table this morning, showing Chelsea stuck in 15th place, suggests an answer.

“It’s a pity but it’s not in my nature to complain and we have to be able to solve that,” Hiddink said of his main striker’s suspension. “He focused himself on what he’s good at, not wasting energy when you shouldn’t. We conceded some unlucky goals but what was important was the reaction after 1-2 and the reaction was good.”

Costa’s contribution helped restore relations with the crowd, who were much more supportive than against Sunderland last week, declining either to boo any individuals or even chant Mourinho’s name.
The new-old manager made a big call at half-time, replacing Cesc Fabregas with John Obi Mikel because he felt the midfield was awry. “When we have a midfield with all creative players, it’s beautiful but we have to look for balance.”

All of this inevitably overshadowed another praiseworthy performance by Watford in this remarkable first season under Quique Sanchez Flores, who once played under Hiddink at Valencia.
No prizes were available for guessing their scorers, of course; when Odion Ighalo added to Troy Deeney’s penalty it was the 19th of Watford’s 23 goals the pair have scored between them this season. It is time for a statistical wizard somewhere to work out whether any pair have ever had a higher percentage.

Deeney worked hard, without ever quite dropping as deep as normal, preferring to push right up alongside his partner to keep John Terry and Gary Cahill, a pair of centre backs who looked almost unbeatable a year ago, occupied. Sanchez Flores praised his two strikers’ defensive work as well, after expressing delight with a result that signifies another step forward after beating Liverpool.
“I’m satisfied with a point and happy with the performance against a tough team that was really motivated under a new manager. Every time, it’s difficult to play against Chelsea.” Some teams have found it less so this season.

With Watford’s regular left-back, the Chelsea loanee Nathan Ake, ineligible to play, the home side appeared determined to target his replacement, Jose Holebas, attacking constantly down that flank. Branislav Ivanovic, one of three players on the staff in Hiddink’s first spell in 2009 - Terry and Mikel, both involved here, were the others – took full advantage and the strategy brought a series of assaults from the right, one of which led to the opening goal.
Willian swung over a corner, Terry headed down off Cahill’s back and Costa swivelled to volley in his first goal for a month. By half-time, however, Matic had incomprehensibly handled Ben Watson’s corner and Deeney rolled in the inevitable penalty kick.

The lack of confidence in a team that has not been winning was apparent as Thibaut Courtois had to save low down from Etienne Capoue and was then beaten by a slight deflection off Cahill from Ighalo’s drive.
When the irrepressible Willian put Costa in with a hint of offside to equalise, however, there were 25 minutes to secure a morale-boosting victory and Oscar had a glorious opportunity to take it after one substitute, Valon Behrami, crashed into another, Eden Hazard. But the Brazilian slipped as he kicked and shot high over the bar.

“He shouldn’t have put on slicks, he should have had normal tyres,” Hiddink joked. That sense of humour may be tested a few times before the end of the season.

Teams
Chelsea: (4-2-3-1) Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Fabregas (Mikel, 46), Matic; Willian, Oscar, Pedro (Hazard, 74); Costa.
Watford: (4-4-2) Gomes; Nyom, Cathcart, Britos, Holebas; Abdi (Behrami, 68), Capoue, Watson, Jurado (Anya, 73); Deeney (Guedioura, 89), Ighalo.
Referee: Andre Marriner.
Man of the match: Willian (Chelsea)
Match rating: 7/10

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Observer:

Hiddink gets taste of his Chelsea task after Oscar blows late penalty against Watford

Chelsea 2 - 2 Watford

Dominic Fifield at Stamford Bridge

Now Guus Hiddink will better understand the scale of the task he has taken on at Chelsea. This was an occasion to sum up the champions’ slapdash campaign, a game that might have been claimed early only to be surrendered as Watford exposed all the frailties that had undermined the last few months of José Mourinho’s tenure. In the context of a deficit recovered against a team on the fringe of the Champions League places, and grasping for positives, it did at least offer flashes of the character the home support deemed to have been so absent of late.
 
Yet, by the end, it was the sense of pantomime which rather lingered with the contest’s comical moment delivered at Chelsea’s expense. There were 11 minutes still to play, the home side relieved by Diego Costa’s second goal of the afternoon which had drawn them level, when Valon Behrami upended Eden Hazard, substitutes both, to earn the hosts a penalty. The non-award of spot-kicks had become one of Mourinho’s regular gripes over the latter days of his stewardship, with this a second in successive games since the axe fell. But, given everything that has gone before, the locals should have known better than to sense success.

Up strode Oscar, staggering in his runup to put off Heurelho Gomes, only to slip as he struck the ball and sky the effort high into the Matthew Harding stand. “In this weather he shouldn’t have put slicks on,” offered Hiddink. “He should have used normal tyres and put it away.” The club’s principal shirt sponsors might have something to say on that front but the miss checked the optimism, the sense of anticlimax exacerbated by Costa’s lunge at Craig Cathcart which earned him a fifth yellow card of the season. The Spain forward had looked more like his old self here, taking his goals impressively, but will now be absent through suspension at Manchester United on Monday. Chelsea’s timing has been abysmal all year.

In truth, and as Hiddink later suggested, Watford had merited reward from their trip to west London even if a glance at the league table made their celebrations of a draw feel rather incongruous. So aggressive had they proved up to the interval, with Étienne Capoue and Ben Watson such an energetic central midfield pairing behind a potent strike force, that Hiddink had opted to withdraw Cesc Fàbregas at the break craving better balance to his own lineup. The Spaniard, while no longer booed, had been peripheral in a half which might have been lifted straight out of October’s capitulations to Southampton and Liverpool.

The home side, while rarely fluent, chiselled out a lead as Willian’s corner was nodded back towards the clutter in the six-yard box by John Terry for Costa to spin and crunch a fine volley into the net from close range. In previous seasons that might have been the prelude for a cricket score,

particularly against opponents who had been competing in the Championship a few months ago. But there is too much fragility in this lineup at present to be masked by a one-goal advantage, with Watson’s corner eventually handled by Nemanja Matic, waving his left arm needlessly to invite disaster, allowing Troy Deeney to score an equaliser from the spot.
A deflection thrust the visitors ahead.Odion Ighalo was permitted too much space and spat away a shot which flicked off Gary Cahill’s instep and looped beyond a wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois, the Nigerian registering for a fifth top-flight game in succession.

Chelsea could bemoan that familiar ill-fortune with the spin of the loose ball, though their goalkeeper and Terry had both been forced into smart blocks to deny Capoue moments earlier. “But it was important, given the recent past, the team reacted at that point against a very well-organised opponent,” said Hiddink. “They did that, and showed their ambition.”

Willian’s sumptuous diagonal pass, perfectly placed and weighted to cut out the entire Watford backline, duly offered a route back, with Costa darting between Allan Nyom and Cathcart to collect. His first touch created an angle and drew out Gomes, with his second steering the ball back across the goalkeeper and into the far corner for a first brace in 343 days.

“He focused on the things he’s good at, and where he is dangerous,” said the interim manager. “He’s not wasting extra energy where he shouldn’t, and he did that today. Losing him at United is a set-back, of course, and we have 48 hours to solve that problem.”
At least they travel to Old Trafford in the knowledge it will be their embattled hosts, rather than the faded champions, who are under the acutest pressure on Monday.

Watching from the stands as Sunderland were put to the sword here the previous week was one thing for Hiddink, but this was more reflective of everything Chelsea have been of late, even if it did offer hints at what they could yet become. It says everything that, once Quique Sánchez Flores’s initial elation dies down, it will be Watford who feel they might have missed out.

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Telegraph:
Chelsea 2 Watford 2
Guus Hiddink left to rue Oscar missed penalty after Diego Costa double

Chelsea fall behind in the second half, but in the end feel they should have claimed the win

Sam Wallace

They have stopped mourning for the departure of Jose Mourinho quite so vociferously at Stamford Bridge but another mediocre performance suggests that the grieving for their broken Premier League season may go on for some time yet.

Guus Hiddink was back at the controls but this is a very different Chelsea to the one he steered to a third place finish and an FA Cup final triumph in 2009. Back then, the Dutch coach could call upon the experience of players like Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka while now his fallen champions, suffering from a shortfall of confidence and a severe lack of direction, still look capable of fouling up just about any game.

It might all have been different if, with ten minutes left and the score at 2-2, Oscar had managed to do better with a penalty that he sent in the direction of the Matthew Harding Stand upper tier concourse as opposed to the kind of trajectory that might have troubled Heurelho Gomes. The penalty was a surreal end to another day on which Stamford Bridge watched the champions of 2015 confront some familiar demons.

Hiddink joked later that, given the weather, Oscar, who slipped as he struck the ball, “shouldn’t have put slicks on” instead of the proverbial “normal tyres”. The men in the Yokohama Rubber executive box, who paid a mere pnds200m for the privilege of advertising on the Chelsea shirt, may or may not see that comment as an added bonus. Oscar will just be glad he has such a sympathetic hearing from the new manager.

There were two goals for Diego Costa, and no booing of him from the home fans this time, although the striker was booked for a fifth time late in the game and will now miss tomorrow’s game against Manchester United. As for Cesc Fabregas, he was replaced at half-time by John Obi Mikel and the home side were the better for it. Eden Hazard came on as a late substitute to win the penalty that was so carelessly wasted.

The general rage about Mourinho’s departure seems to have abated at Stamford Bridge – there was hardly a song about him – but there is still bemusement at the state of their team. In his first caretaker spell, Hiddink lost just one game in 22, away at Tottenham, but this time he had reason to be grateful that the club did not taste defeat in his first match back.

The draw was fair on both sides, with Quique Sanchez Flores’ team on top for most of the first half when they equalised through Troy Deeney’s penalty and then scored after the break with a deflected goal from the prolific Odion Ighalo. Hiddink, who managed Flores the player at Valencia in the early 1990s, was generous in his praise of the Premier League’s seventh placed team who have now taken 13 points from the last five matches.

At half-time Hiddink said that he had to sacrifice one of his “creative” players to bring on Mikel and try to deal with the efforts of Deeney and Ighalo as they hunted for possession. In midfield, Etienne Capoue, Jose Jurado and Ben Watson looked comfortable and while the substitute Valon Behrami’s ridiculous foul on Hazard might have undermined a very solid away performance, generally Watford approached the game with a positive outlook.

Ighalo had two chances early on before Costa scored Chelsea’s first against the run of play. After a good spell at the start of the game Hiddink’s players had too much time without the ball, and too much time chasing it ineffectively. Then, from a Willian corner, John Terry headed the ball downwards, it flicked off Gary Cahill’s back and Costa spun quickly to volley the loose ball past Heurelho Gomes.

Before the game, Hiddink had made a low-key entry, resisting the request from the club’s on-pitch announcer Neil Barnett to come out onto the pitch to wave to the fans. The new manager performed a little bow by his bench and sat down. He had made just one change, Cahill for Kurt Zouma, from the side that beat Sunderland the previous weekend.

Watford’s equaliser was a confidently taken penalty from Deeney four minutes before half-time after a very avoidable handball from Nemanja Matic when a corner was floated over from the right side. You do wonder how much the midfielder can see from behind the mask he has to wear to protect his fractured nose. His misjudgement was so blatant that referee Andre Marriner barely had a protest to deal with.
Watford struck first after half-time, a heavily deflected shot from Ighalo off Cahill’s heel that sent Thibaut Courtois in precisely the wrong direction. Unfortunate? Perhaps, but a natural consequence for a team that simply fails to put enough pressure on the ball

It looked bleak for Chelsea at that point and their revival showed that character does lurk within this team. It was Willian’s perfectly angled ball from the right that found a corridor through Watford’s defence and Costa took one touch to take it wide of Gomes and struck it with his right foot the other side of the goalkeeper.
The less said, from Chelsea’s point of view, about Oscar’s ensuing penalty, well over the bar, the better. It was a foul on Craig Cathcart, possibly payback for something or other, that saw Costa booked by Marriner, one more self-destructive act in a very destructive season. Mikel had the last shot of the game but if that gone in, it truly would have been a miraculous Christmas for Chelsea’s new manager.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2-2 Watford:

Guus Hiddink denied win on return to Stamford Bridge as Oscar slips to miss 80th-minute penalty

Diego Costa opened the scoring in the 32nd minute before Troy Deeney levelled from penalty spot before half-time
Premier League high-flyers Watford took the lead when Odion Ighalo scored his 13th league goal of the season
Costa netted his second goal of the game to make it 2-2 after 65 minutes of Premier League clash on Boxing Day
Oscar then squandered opportunity from the penalty spot after slipping during run up to take spot-kick

By Rob Draper for The Mail on Sunday 

Last weekend, as Diego Costa stalked from the pitch angrily, serenaded only with boos and the chanting of support for Jose Mourinho, it was hard to imagine a long-term future for the player at Stamford Bridge.

And on Boxing Day it was still hard to know which way it will eventually fall for Costa. On the one hand Costa scored two goals in a game for the first time since January, against Swansea, a game which turned out to be the high-water mark of Jose Mourinho’s reign at Chelsea.

And against Watford, he was once more the man on whom Chelsea depended to get them out of a hole when Guus Hiddink’s return looked like going the same way as Mourinho’s, only an awful lot quicker. Yet a yellow card in the 88th minute means he is banned for the trip to Manchester United, a familiar scenario and one of which Chelsea may eventually tire.

Hiddink was thankful for his contribution, after nurturing him through this first week but even he couldn’t be sure about what the future will hold for Costa at Chelsea. ‘I give you no guarantee about that,’ said Hiddink. ‘When people are emotional with their temperament, anything can happen in the game.
‘When Diego was booed – whether it was right or wrong – he had a very good reaction. When he was substituted by Steve Holland last week, he had a very good reaction, as a professional, because he could have reacted again. I think that made him think: "How should I go on?" He showed that today.

‘But don't overestimate the influence of managers. You try to give people the focus. They're not big words. You just tell them to focus on what they have to do in training sessions and team meetings. I told him he could do what he did today. He focused himself where he's good, and there he's very dangerous. That's important. He's not wasting extra energy where he shouldn't, and he did that today.'
It was only partially true of course. Hiddink now has a headache regarding the trip to Old Trafford on Monday.

And whether Chelsea were truly revived was a moot point though the atmosphere inside the ground had improved. ‘I think, last week, the fans had fully the right to express themselves as they did about this past or current situation,’ said Hiddink. ‘It's up to the team to show they must take the initiative to get the crowd back. Which they did, especially when we were 2-1 down. The team had to react and the team did. That showed the crowd what they are willing to do.’

Hiddink will bring his unique sense of charm to Chelsea at least. At one point he was urging Ivanovic forward. His opposite number Quique Sanchez Flores was also once a full back and he played under Hiddink at Valencia. So as Hiddink urged Ivanovic on, he added a line about ensuring he did so better than Quique Flores ever did for him at Valencia. The Watford manager relayed that anecdote with his own megawatt smile. ‘He can be competitive and, at the same time, be funny. He will be fine for them.’

Yet despite a late escape when Oscar skied a penalty, Sanchez Flores and his players eyed a fifth successive win at times. Chelsea were limp, uninspiring early on and the players seemed more motivated last week by the sacking of Mourinho than they did for the arrival of Hiddink.

In fact, Watford had been enjoying an excellent period when, from Willian’s corner on 33 minutes, John Terry rose at the back post to head across the six-yard box and Costa was on hand at close range to hook in only his fifth goal of the season. Having scored he raced to the corner, arm outstretched, pointing at the crowd, shouting angrily; whether just fired up or still peeved at his treatment was unclear.

But Watford had enjoyed decent periods of possession and troubled Chelsea before that breakthrough. Odion Ighalo rushed at a volley when he looked offside but wasn’t on 18 minutes. Yet it was the clumsy leap of Nemanja Matic which presented them with their opportunity on 42 minutes. Inexplicably the Serbian leapt for Ben Watson’s corner and only succeeding in handling it presenting Troy Deeney with a chance to equalise from the spot.

Watford were keen to harness the momentum in the second half. Courtois saved well from Etienne Capoue on 56 minutes and Jose Jurado played in Ighalo on 57 minutes, the Nigerian striker, with 12 goals to his name this season already, was happy to test Courtois. His shot took a deflection off Gary Cahill and looped over the keeper, with allowing Ighalo to celebrate in front of the travelling Watford fans.

Chelsea had been fairly underwhelming but to their credit they rallied. Oscar, instigator of much that is good, played in Pedro whose shot was blocked. And on 65 minutes Willian played a delightful ball for a just onside Costa. He took one touch and finished, once again, with the kind of confidence with which we had become familiar last season.

They don’t do happy endings at Stamford Bridge at the moment. On came Eden Hazard to muted cheers, though he had at least avoided the worst of the treatment meted out to those perceived to be disloyal to Mourinho. Still he unnerved Valon Behrami, who upended the Belgian inside the penalty area on 79 minutes.

The romantics craved Costa but up stepped Oscar. Indeed, it seemed too serious a moment to allow the team to be indulgent.
Yet the Brazilian slipped as he struck, his balancing foot taking out his the leg with which he was shooting, and the ball looped harmlessly over the cross bar. It has been that kind of a season for Chelsea.

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Mirror:
Chelsea 2-2 Watford:
5 things we learned as Oscar's penalty miss denies Guus Hiddink winning start


By Adrian Kajumba
 
Oscar ballooned a late spot-kick over the bar to blow the chance to claim victory from a see-saw Boxing Day clash at Stamford Bridge

Guus Hiddink was forced to settle for a draw in the first game of his second interim reign after Oscar's late penalty miss.
Oscar ballooned the ball well over the bar from 12 yards in the 80th minute to blow the chance to claim all three points for Chelsea from a see-saw Boxing Day clash at Stamford Bridge.

Diego Costa gave Chelsea the lead in the 32nd minute with a sharp finish from John Terry's knockdown.
But Watford turned the game on it's head. Troy Deeney levelled from the spot just before half-time after Nemanja Matic was penalised for handball before Odion Ighalo beat Thibaut Courtois with a deflected effort after the break.
Costa fired in his second in the 65th minute to draw Chelsea level before Oscar, who scored from the spot against Sunderland, slipped as he stepped up to take a penalty won when Eden Hazard was brought down by Valon Behrami.
Costa blotted his copybook by picking up a late, fifth domestic booking of the season, ruling him out of Monday's trip to Manchester United.

Here's five things we learned:

1. Chelsea a long way from regaining aura
Chelsea have changed manager but still look as vulnerable and nervous as they did under Jose Mourinho. Teams simply don't fear facing them at the moment.
They didn't get an early goal against Watford and the tension quickly rose around Stamford Bridge. Watford took control of the game, exposing Chelsea's soft centre under the slightest pressure and you could soon feel the unease among a crowd that have grown accustomed to suffering this season.
Watford continued to give as good as they got for the rest of the game and were full value for their point.

2. Diego Costa is getting back to his best
Diego Costa showed signs of his good, old self at times against Watford. Firstly there were the two goals and there were also two other near misses.
All four chances were notable for Costa being in the right place at the right time, given his inability to do just that was at the heart of his tension in the closing stages of Jose Mourinho's reign.
There was some eye-catching hold up play too, some of which earned him applause from the fans who greeted his name with a smattering of boos.
He did ruin his display with his late booking for a wild challenge though.

3. Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard
Fabregas got a similar reaction to Costa when his name was read out but didn't produce the same level of performance on the pitch.
The Spaniard has been poor for most of the season and continued that form by going missing in the first half and being hooked at half-time.
He has plenty of work to do to get the fans back onside.
Eden Hazard, the third player blamed by some for Mourinho's dismissal, appears to have escaped the wrath of the home fans judging by the warm welcome he got when he came on late on.

4. Troy Deeney relishes pantomime villain role
Taunting the Watford skipper comes with a warning...he'll give it back if he gets the chance.
Chelsea fans found that out, just as Aston Villa's did a month ago, when Deeney responded to their baiting before his penalty equaliser by cupping his ears and sliding gleefully on his knees in front of them to celebrate.
It was as good natured exchange as was possible in the circumstances and the down-to-earth Deeney reacted like somebody who doesn't take the abuse too seriously and just sees it all as part of the game.
In an age when some players need little excuse to opt for an unnecessary muted celebration Deeney's was refreshing.

5. Quique Sanchez Flores
Much more of this and Watford's boss will put himself right in the running for the manager of the year award.
The Spaniard has done a brilliant job to come into the Premier League himself, bring in 15 players and mould them into a team he has created who are prepared to go toe-to-toe with any team they face.
Fact he is doing it by going on the front foot and playing 442 instead of with a defensive approach only earns him even more admiration.

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Express:

Guus Hiddink arrival fails to perk up Chelsea as Watford battle to Stamford Bridge point
THE caretaker has arrived but the problems remain for Chelsea as they continue to look a pale shadow of defending champions.

By Jim Holden

Guus Hiddink's first match of his second rescue mission at Stamford Bridge ended with a meagre point, despite two goals from striker Diego Costa against an impressive Watford team.
There were none of the jeers of the previous week when the Chelsea crowd booed several players they believed were implicated in the departure of former manager Jose Mourinho.
But there was a pantomime villain.

That was midfielder Oscar, who had the chance to win the match for Chelsea with a late penalty but slipped in slapstick fashion as he connected with the ball and sent it ballooning over the bar.
Defeat would have been harsh on Watford. They might have been hanging on towards the final whistle, but for much of the game they looked the more accomplished side despite the return to form of Costa.
Without the combative Spanish striker, Chelsea would have endured far more misery. "I am disappointed not to have a victory because of the penalty chance," said Hiddink.
"But Watford also deserve a lot of respect. It was a very intense game and I was delighted by the reaction of the players after we went down 2-1 in the second half.

"That was good, especially in regard to what has happened in the recent past."
Watford's defence is famously well organised under the eagle eye of head coach Quique Sanchez Flores, but they were undone in the 34th minute by a Chelsea goal trademarked since the day John Terry came into the team as a teenager.
He won a header at a corner and knocked the ball down for Costa to score with a left-footed volley, shooting on the half-turn.
It was only the fourth goal for Costa this season but this was greeted with unanimous applause from the Chelsea crowd - a sharp contrast to the way they had roundly jeered him the previous weekend.
That didn't seem to matter to Costa. He still wore his trademark angry face as he ran to the corner flag while his team-mates celebrated.

Watford were undeterred, and by half-time they were level thanks to a penalty. It was a curiously clumsy handball by Nemanja Matic, arms all akimbo at a corner.
Troy Deeney scored calmly from the spot to make it 1-1 at the break.
The visitors continued to be more threatening after the interval. Etienne Capoue had one shot well saved by Courtois, but within a minute Watford had taken the lead when a shot from Odion Ighalo was deflected into goal off Chelsea defender Gary Cahill.
Now there was real concern.

It took 10 minutes and a touch of over-confidence from Watford for an equaliser.
Jose Manuel Jurado was a little too cocky as he raced past Branislav Ivanovic. He lost the ball and within moments Willian had played a clever pass to Costa, running behind the Watford defence, and the striker scored with a lovely clip.
Was the striker offside? Replays showed it was a marginal call.
Eden Hazard came on as a substitute and instantly won a penalty with his trickery. Maybe this was the day for Costa to take the spot-kick and claim a hat-trick.
Instead, Oscar contrived his hapless miss - and Chelsea remain low in the table, still flirting with the relegation zone, while Watford compete for a place in the top four.
"It's amazing for the story of Watford," said manager Flores. "I was very pleased with the performance against such strong opposition."

COUNTING THE COSTA: Diego may have had a hat-trick and a winning goal had he taken the penalty

MAN of the MATCH: Etienne Capoue - A strong presence in the heart of midfield for Watford.CHELSEA: Courtois; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas (Mikel 45); Willian, Oscard, Pedro (Hazard 75); Costa.

WATFORD: Gomes; Nyom, Britos, Cathcart, Holebas; Abdi (Behrami 69), Watson, Capoue, Jurado (Anya 73); Deeney (Guedioura 90), Ighalo.

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Star:
 
Chelsea 2 Watford 2: Costa receives standing ovation and turns from villain to hero
LAST week he was being booed by Chelsea fans like a pantomime villain.

By Tony Stenson

Today, Diego Costa was cheered to the rafters after coming to interim boss Guus Hiddink’s rescue.
Last Saturday, supporters at Stamford Bridge booed Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Costa, waving a banner with the words “rats” written on it, blaming them for the departure of Jose Mourinho.
But it was a different story today. After taking over until the end of the season from Mourinho, it looked like Hiddink’s first game in charge of his second spell at the club would end in disaster.

Costa had opened the scoring in the 32nd minute but a Troy Deeney penalty and yet another goal from Odion Ighalo put Watford in the driving seat.
But Brazil-born Spain striker Costa slotted home just after the hour to get a standing ovation from the home supporters who turned on him last week.

And the reviews could have been even better for the champions if Oscar had found the net from the spot ten minutes from time.
But instead, the Brazilian slipped, firing high and wide with three points there for the taking. As a sign of respect to Hiddink, the Chelsea fans did not chant Mourinho’s name once yesterday.
But that was lost on the Dutchman, who said: “I was concentrating on the team but I can also see the outside world as well.
“I fully understand the fans and their frustration and I told the team it is up to them to win the fans back and I thought they did that.”
Costa, who picked up a needless yellow card two minutes from the end of the game, is now suspended for Monday night’s trip to struggling Manchester United.

Hiddink added: “We will miss him. Diego focused himself where he’s good and he’s very dangerous.
“It’s very important he’s not wasting extra energy where he shouldn’t and he did that today.
“He is out for the United game after a fifth booking of the season, which means we have to think how to solve that problem. It’s a pity, because he’d put in a good performance.”
Hiddink also gave an insight into how he has tried to boost Costa’s confidence after the series of which results which saw Mourinho axed.
He said: “You try to focus and give people the focus.

“They’re not big words. You just tell them to focus on what they have to do in training sessions and meetings. Everyone knows what he is capable of.
“I told him he could do what he did today.
“Am I really disappointed? When we are near the end of the game and getting a penalty for 3-2 – a deserved 3-2 – then it’s a big setback but Watford deserve great respect. But yes, I’m disappointed we didn’t win.”
Costa was back to his old raw, powerful self in the early stages yesterday, as his side won six corners in the first 13 minutes.
Willian has been one of the few bright sparks for Chelsea this term and in the fourth minute Costa should have opened the scoring from his team-mate’s cross.

But the striker made up for his error in the 32nd minute when John Terry headed back a Willian corner and Costa fired in with his left foot.
Watford replied ten minutes later after Ben Watson hit over a corner which Nemanja Matic handled and Deeney blasted home from the spot.
After the break, the visitors took the lead. Ighalo took a pass from Jose Jurado and then worked his way into the Chelsea area and fired a shot which rocketed off Gary Cahill’s legs and into the net.
Watford were in full flight and were good value for their lead.
But the unstoppable Costa, a constant thorn in the side of the opposition, seized on to a wonderful Willian pass with his left foot before turning and slotting home with his right to level things again in the 65th minute.


And it looked as if Hiddink might get off to the perfect start in his bid to secure a top-four spot and, with it, a Champions League place for Chelsea next season when Watford substitute Valon Behrami recklessly brought down Hazard.
There were calls for Costa to take the kick and secure his hat-trick but up stepped Oscar.
But his effort went miles over the bar after he lost his footing, much like skipper John Terry did in the Champions League Final defeat to tomorrow’s opponents Man United in 2008.
After the game, Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores, whose said face Spurs tomorrow, said: “I very satisfied. We had an opportunity to advance the score in the second half but we were playing against an excellent team who were really motivated with a new boss.
“So I’m very happy with the performance and the point.”