Watford looked strong and impressive for 45 minutes against Chelsea, but a torrid start to the second-half gave them a mountain to climb.

Here's how we rated their individual performances from a true game of two halves at Stamford Bridge:

Ben Foster - 7

The usually-reliable goalkeeper has been at fault for one or two goals recently, but he made some impressive stops to keep the score down, most notably in the first half from Eden Hazard and in the second from both Pedro and Gonzalo Higuain.

The records will show that he let three goals in, but he was left high and dry by some poor defending.

Kiko Femenia - 6


A fairly anonymous performance from the right back in which he was largely ineffective. 

His influence in attack was minimal, although he did cope well with Eden Hazard in defence during the first half when the Hornets were dominant.

Adrian Mariappa - 5

The centre back didn’t have a bad game per se, but was definitely at fault for Chelsea’s second goal in which he lost David Luiz from a corner.

He looked a little out of his depth and was also lucky that Olivier Giroud didn’t score later on in the game after he had lost him at the back post.

Craig Cathcart - 6

Cathcart was a little steadier than Mariappa, but was at fault for the third goal when he was beaten for speed by the snail-paced Higuain.

He still looked a little out of sorts and maybe was still feeling the effects of an injury that forced him off against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Jose Holebas - 6

The full-back looked sharp in the first-half, but was quiet in the second.

His cross to Troy Deeney in the game’s opening stages almost gave the Hornets an excellent start and his shot against the crossbar in the second was highly unfortunate.

However, he struggled to cope at the back with the threat of Pedro and Hazard after the interval. 

Will Hughes - 7

Another whose influence waned as the game went on was Hughes, who had battled really well at times.

His passing and work rate were both effective and he was unlucky to find himself on the losing team.

However, he was one of a number of players who were guilty of trying to walk the ball into the net and his decision making around the box was again questionable at times.

Abdoulaye Doucoure - 8

It’s difficult to award such a high rating to a player whose team lost 3-0, but in the absence of Etienne Capoue, Doucoure was actually very good.

In the first half he completely ran the show and it was only the wastefulness of the attackers and the heroics of Kepa Arrizabalaga that kept him on the wrong side of the scoreline, while he was let down by poor defending behind him.

Nathaniel Chalobah - 6

After the game Javi Gracia said he was pleased with Chalobah’s contribution and his talent is still clearly appreciated at Stamford Bridge as the home fans rose to their feet to applaud the midfielder as he was substituted off.

However, he lost Ruben Loftus-Cheek for the game’s opening goal and still looked far from his best. 

An encouraging performance, but he still needs some work before he is the finished article.

Roberto Pereyra - 6

The Argentine was another player guilty of trying to turn good chances into great ones and in the end wasted a number of half-decent opportunities.

He did a lot of running, but a decent end product was lacking.

Troy Deeney - 7

Deeney produced a performance that let the Watford fans and players know what they’d been missing in the last three matches.

However, he seemed to get a bit frustrated in the second half and was duly substituted once the game was out of Watford’s reach.

Gerard Deulofeu - 6

Deulofeu’s effort has become more consistent in recent weeks, but his end product could be called into question again after he failed to hit the target from one or two decent looking chances.

At times he seemed more interested in flicking the ball at defenders and trying to win handballs than actually trying to get a decent shot away.

Substitutes

Tom Cleverley - 5

A fairly anonymous turn from Cleverley, who replaced Chalobah with half an hour remaining.

Good to see him back on the pitch again, but there’s a bit of rustiness for him to get rid of.

Isaac Success - N/A

Joined the game too late to make an impact.

Andre Gray - N/A

Joined the game too late to make an impact.