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Chelsea 0-2 Southampton: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Lacklustre Blues Stunned by Saints

Frank Lampard's Chelsea were made to pay for another lacklustre home showing as Southampton coasted to a comfortable 2-0 win on Thursday.

Chelsea dominated possession in the first half but created very little, and it was Southampton who took the lead. Michael Obafemi found some space as he drove towards the penalty area and he fired into the top in the 31st minute. Chelsea searched for an equaliser but lacked any form of creativity, meaning Southampton held the lead at the break.

The Blues' first chance came just seconds after the break, but Tammy Abraham's effort crashed into the side netting. Chances were again hard to come by, although Nathan Redmond perhaps should have doubled his sides lead shortly after the hour mark, but his close-range effort was poor.

However, Redmond did make it two soon after, finishing off a delightful team move to dink the ball over Kepa Arrizabalaga. Chelsea never looked close to coming back, and Southampton coasted to a well-deserved 2-0 win.

CHELSEA

Key Talking Point

Frank Lampard

For all the positives that came from ​Chelsea's use of the 3-4-3 against ​Tottenham Hotspur, the formation looked woeful in this one.

Lampard had every reason to be faithful after watching his side's impressive showing against Spurs, but ​Southampton's low block meant that it simply did not work here. There was no creativity, the final ball was atrocious and Chelsea looked outnumbered in attack.

Mason Mount was introduced at the break to change the shape, and while a minor improvement was certainly evident, it was by no means enough. There was no creative centrally or out wide, and Chelsea paid for that. Roll on the January transfer window.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Arrizabalaga (5); Tomori (5), Zouma (5), Rüdiger (5); Azpilicueta (4), Kanté (5), Jorginho (5), Emerson (4); Hudson-Odoi (5), Abraham (6*), Willian (6).

Substitutes: Mount (5), Pulisic (5), Pedro (N/A).

STAR MAN - Tammy Abraham

Tammy Abraham

This was certainly not Abraham's finest performance in a Chelsea shirt, but it was a respectable showing when you consider the lack of service into him. 


The towering striker was made to do everything alone, and he came close to actually succeeding once or twice. His movement and speed created a number of problems, but Southampton's resilient defence made things far too difficult.


There was only so much Abraham could do with the lack of quality around him, and he definitely did everything possible. Unfortunately for Chelsea, it just wasn't enough.

SOUTHAMPTON

Key Talking Point

Ralph Hasenhuttl

With top scorer ​Danny Ings rested to the benchwith a minor knee issue, the question for Southampton was where the goals would come from. Fortunately, Obafemi and Redmond rose to the occasion.

Those goals allowed Southampton to sit back and execute their game plan, and they did it to perfection. Ralph Hasenhüttl set his side up to defend in numbers and frustrate the Blues, which is what teams in a relegation battle need to do against Chelsea. It was not pretty, but it was perfect.

That's now consecutive away wins for Southampton, who look nothing like the side who were thumped by Leicester City. Performances like this will guide them away from the relegation zone.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: McCarthy (6); Soares (7), Stephens (8*), Bednarek (8), Bertrand (6); Armstrong (8), Ward-Prowse (6), Højbjerg (7), Redmond (7); Obafemi (7), Adams (6).


Substitutes: Ings (6), Boufal (6), Romeu (N/A)

STAR MAN - Jack Stephens

Jack Stephens

Chelsea's love of aimlessly floating in poor crosses was the stuff of dreams for centre-back Jack Stephens, who rose to clear header after header with frightening ease.

Stephens almost never looked concerned during the game, as he and partner Jan Bednarek controlled the game from the back, leading by example and ensuring the Saints did not let their level drop for even a second.


He probably wasn't expecting such a straightforward afternoon against a Champions League hopeful, but credit to Stephens for ensuring that Chelsea never had a chance of winning this one.

Looking Ahead

Chelsea will look to bounce back from this poor showing when they travel to the Emirates Stadium to meet ​Arsenal on Sunday.

As for Southampton, they will welcome ​Crystal Palace to St Mary's Stadium on the same day.

For more from Tom Gott, follow him on Twitter!


Source : 90min