Referee:Jonathan Moss Attendance:20,051
clips of Jon Marks BBC 3CR commentary Goals: 1 2
RELIVE – Pereyra stars as Hornets down Seagulls
Watford’s Premier League campaign is up and running from day one after a Roberto Pereyra brace fired them to a deserved and impressive 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion victory at Vicarage Road.
Gracia: Manner of win ‘more important to us’
Formation ‘can change depending on opponents’
RATINGS: Pereyra the star in excellent team performance
Doucoure had ‘worked very hard’ despite no pre-season match minutes
Pereyra can be ‘important player’ for Hornets
Pereyra praises team display after starring role against Seagulls
Brighton manager Chris Hughton said he was left to “wonder what happened” after his side were comfortably beaten by Watford at Vicarage Road.
It was all too comfortable for Watford, who controlled the game impressively in the second half, while Brighton have plenty of work ahead after failing to register a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.
If, as most bookmakers have predicted, this is the season Watford’s stay in the Premier League comes to an end, then somebody had better tell their players. Judging by the manner of their victory here, they have not seen the odds or have done so and been fuelled by a sense of defiance.
In many respects the question on Brighton is quite how bad they were, versus how bad we made them look. The goal is an example… someone should have been keeping an eye on Pereyra but he arrived late to fill the space on the edge of the box vacated by decoy runs to the near post. Yes, Albion were dozy but we forced the issue. Similarly in midfield, Albion were overrun and perhaps even complacent but it was in the face of our relentless and disciplined pressing that it crumpled. When we broke, particularly in the first half having regained possession deep we hurtled through the midfield; there’s maybe a concern that we didn’t capitalise but with Deulofeu’s pace and Chalobah’s awareness to return you’ve got to fancy us away from home.
Thereafter, profligacy rather spared the visitors until Hazard, whipping in a glorious equaliser that dipped under Orestis Karnezis’s outstretched left hand, made it level. Briefly, tantalisingly, Chelsea dared to consider inducing another late Watford implosion but it would be the champions who unravelled. Janmaat, Deulofeu and the substitute Pereyra would each glide into space to drive home their advantage while the majority inside the arena pinched themselves in the giddiness of victory. “It’s difficult to explain how I feel at this moment,” said Gracia. “We needed the three points badly but for motivation and to believe in our possibilities, in our work, today was very important.”
