Chelsea easily defeated Southampton, who looked doomed, 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, moving Ivan Jurić’s team closer to a Championship comeback.
The floodgates opened when Christopher Nkunku opened the score at the twenty-four-minute mark. Before halftime, Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill added more goals to give the Blues a three-goal lead.
In the 78th minute, Marc Cucurella gave Chelsea their fourth goal and put an end to The Saints’ dreadful trip day.
Chelsea took early control and allayed any fears
Southampton may have finished last in the Premier League, but Chelsea had only won one of their previous five games in all competitions, so it turned out that Stamford Bridge was crowded for what could have been the ultimate banana skin match. With Enzo Fernández trying to run from deep and Neto and Moisés Caicedo seeing a lot of the ball, they took early control and allayed any fears.
With Paul Onuachu lurking behind him, Mateus Fernandes whipped in a wonderful delivery that Colwill had to head away after Kamaldeen Sulemana had an early race with Malo Gusto, demonstrating the Saints’ speed on both wings.
Neto was constantly cutting in and spinning without really delivering, but Chelsea continued chasing him on the right. Jadon Sancho switched sides with him and hit a fantastic pass into the area right away, but nobody was there to finish.
Chelsea Lacked a central figure up front
Nevertheless, Chelsea’s play had a certain amount of anxiety since, without Nicolas Jackson, they lacked a central figure up front. Southampton actually had the first attempt when Will Smallbone brought on Onuachu, who hit the ball high and wide. The crowd became restless as a result; they could sense their team’s nervousness and were unimpressed by their delayed, frequently unfavorable build-up play.
Cole Palmer had sliced his shot wide after Fernández grabbed the ball on the turn and placed him through on goal. A few minutes later, Palmer forced Aaron Ramsdale to make a save as the two combined once more. Chelsea took the lead when the ball dropped to Nkunku at the far post from the ensuing corner.
Chelsea had the confidence that comes with goals.
The audience was getting more animated, and they were moving more quickly. However, Jörgensen did an excellent job palming away Onuachu’s powerful header as Sulemana blasted by Gusto and stood it up to the back post, giving the Saints a great chance.
The score quickly increased to 64 as Chelsea made it 3-0 just to halftime as Colwill forced home a free kick from Neto. After losing 5-1 at Chelsea earlier in the season and once again looking like a shambles on defense, Southampton needed to make sure this wasn’t another crushing defeat.In the second half, the visitors had the better start of the two, but a corner and a few crosses were in vain. Chelsea soon had a corner of their own when the Saints’ keeper pushed over Nkunku’s header.
Visitors had the better start of the two, but a corner and a few crosses were in vain
Sancho ran forward and slid Neto in, but he somehow let the ball run out of play rather than firing with his right foot, giving Chelsea the next huge opportunity. Later, a well-placed free kick was missed by Southampton because it was too high for Armel Bella-Kotchap, who was not marked.
Tyrique When George was brought in for the home team, he got a fantastic opportunity right away and sent the ball over the bar from a close angle. After 75 minutes, the game was winding down due to the work completed in the first half.
When George ran down the right side and picked out Cucurella, who scored well for a fourth goal, the away supporters were in a good mood and seemed to embrace the outcome and the possibility of relegation.
The Blues used their youthful players
To play out the last few minutes, the Blues used their youthful players, substituting Mathis Amougou, Josh Acheampong, and Shumaira Mheuka for Nkunku, Caicedo, and Fernández. The latter headed right at Ramsdale from a corner, nearly scoring with his first touch.
Palmer was frantically trying to score in the final four minutes, but the only thing he managed to do was attempt a 30-yard free kick that Ramsdale deflected away. The whistle blew shortly after, and Chelsea celebrated.
With nine points at the bottom of the standings, Southampton is getting closer to the Championship and setting an unwelcome record for the fewest points. They have two weeks off after finishing their FA Cup campaign before traveling to Anfield to play Liverpool. It pours when it rains.
Chelsea, meanwhile, confidently returns to the top four after this performance and outcome. Their next match is at Copenhagen for the first leg of their Europa Conference League knockout match, which is more than a week away.