Watford vs Chelsea 2018 (WFC-Chelsea 2018)
Final score and result:- Watford vs Chelsea 4-1 (Deeney pen, Deulofeu, Janmaat, Pereyra/Hazard)
Vicarage Road, Watford- 5 February, 2018
Javia Gracia gets his first win as Watford coach as the Hornets stun Antonio Conte’s Chelsea 4-1 with three late second half goals. Bakayoko sent off for the Blues
French striker Olivier Giroud has revealed that national team manager Didier Deschamps played a role in him leaving the Gunners in the recently concluded winter transfer window.
Giroud was effectively part of a merry go round transfer that saw Aubameyang move to Arsenal, Batshuayi move to BVB and Giroud move to Chelsea.
The arrival of Aubameyang at Arsenal would’ve made Giroud third choice at the Emirates behind the Gabon international and compatriot Alexandre Lacazette, and the 31 year old had a word with Les Bleus boss Deschamps regarding his World Cup selection possibilities, and the latter encouraged him to “leave Arsenal”. Deschamps didn’t tell him to move to Chelsea in particular, but asked him to leave the Emirates in order to increase his World Cup chances, with sporadic Cup and Europa appearances not really helping Giroud’s cause.
Giroud also revealed that there was interest from BVB, Roma and Sevilla, but he opted to join Chelsea. He is expected to make his Blues debut tonight against Watford at Vicarage Road
Borussia Dortmund have opted to include Belgian forward Michy Batshuayi over Swiss defender Manuel Akanji in their Europa League squad for the knockout stages of the tournament. The rules of the tournament meant that manager Peter Stoger had to effectively chose between his two winter signings- a club can nominate only ONE player who has played a previous European Cup game (CL/EL) for another side (Batshuayi for Chelsea and Akanji for Basel in this case) in the same season.
BVB have therefore opted for Batshuayi, who joined them on loan from Chelsea as part of the deal that saw Aubameyang go to Arsenal and Olivier Giroud go to Stamford Bridge.
Stoger’s decision might have been influenced by BVB’s greater depth in defence- Dortmund have the likes of Sokratis, Toprak and Zagadou available to deputise for Akanji, while their striking options are more limited.
Dortmund will face Italian outfit Atalanta in the knockout stages of the EL, with both ties to be played later this month.
The decision will come as a disappointment to Akanji, who would’ve been playing Man City in the Champions League had he stayed with Basel. The Swiss outfit finished second in their group but Dortmund, who were drawn in a group of death alongside Spurs and Real Madrid, could not make it to the round of 16.