Ross Barkley’s injury-time winner gives Chelsea victory over Watford

Who better than Ross Barkley to score the final goal of the Roman Abramovich era? The Chelsea midfielder ensured that Thomas Tuchel’s side did not end the season on a low by coming off the bench to grab the winner with a header in the last minute.

Chelsea, who will be under new ownership soon, had done enough to close out the Roman Abramovich era with a 2-1 win. Watford, who have made Roy Hodgson’s second farewell tour utterly miserable, had lost again despite appearing to have done enough to snatch a point after Dan Gosling’s equaliser.

It was a day of farewells. In the director’s box Todd Boehly was joined by one of his fellow investors, Hansjorg Wyss, as Chelsea wait for the American’s consortium to complete its takeover for the club. There was a standing ovation for Antonio Rüdiger, who is joining Real Madrid, while Cesar Azpilicueta made what could be his final appearance for the club.

It was not exactly the most invigorating of ways for the curtain to fall on the Abramovich era. Even Mike Dean, taking charge of his final match as a referee before stepping into the VAR room, seemed reluctant to take centre stage. There were no comedy flourishes from everyone’s favourite showman, no no-look yellow cards, and that lack of chutzpah from the man with the whistle was matched by the action on the pitch, with both sides looking more than ready for the season to end.

The tone was set by Tuchel’s team selection. Instead of taking the opportunity to use some academy players the head coach gave Chelsea’s fans a chance to remember a couple of forgotten faces. There was a rare start in midfield for Saúl Ñíguez, whose loan from Atletico Madrid has not worked out, and even more astonishingly there was an appearance for Kenedy, who