Southampton 2-1 Chelsea (Lavia 28’, Armstrong 45+1 | Sterling 23’)
Southampton leapfrogged Chelsea in the Premier League table after battling back to a 2-1 home win that exposed more issues for Thomas Tuchel.
With the transfer window open until Thursday evening, whether Chelsea go back into the market remains to be seen, but in the absence of Reece James, N’Golo Kante, and a recognised No 9 – on a night Anthony Gordon was on target at Leeds – they were outplayed and outmuscled by an industrious Southampton side.
Chelsea had capitalised on their fast start when Raheem Sterling scored his third goal in four days, adding to Saturday’s double against Leicester when breaking the deadlock midway through the first half at St Mary’s.
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The lead lasted all of five minutes, however, as Southampton hit back against the run of play when a corner found Romeo Lavia on the edge of the area.
The summer signing from Manchester City needed one touch to set himself, and the second was a powerful effort from 18 yards out which Edouard Mendy could only get a palm to. In doing so, Lavia became the first player born in 2004 to score a Premier League goal.
The match was then turned on its head before half-time, with Southampton waltzing past Chelsea’s midfield and taking the lead when Armstrong met Romain Perraud’s low cross with a strike that deflected past Mendy.
The most pressing issue for Chelsea was the fact they were getting overrun in midfield, and with Kante injured and expected to miss the next few weeks, Tuchel sought to address this when replacing Ruben Loftus-Cheek with Mateo Kovacic.
All the while, Billy Gilmour and summer signing Carney Chukwuemeka were on the bench, a reminder that Chelsea are not short on midfielders but rather struggling to find a combination that works.
Nevertheless, Kovavic coming on for 45 minutes – having enjoyed his first 15 minutes of the season against Leicester – was a welcome sight, although initially it did little to break Southampton’s stride as the hosts sought a third goal.
Eventually, Tuchel opted for a triple substitution, bringing on Ben Chilwell, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja, but still it was Southampton who looked the more likely score.
In the end, Southampton held on and withstood Chelsea’s late advances, with the Saints moving up to seventh in the table and the Blues now eighth after two wins, one draw and two defeats to start the season.
Chelsea ‘too easy to beat’ – Tuchel
Tuchel did not hold back after full-time, bemoaning that his side are “too easy” to beat.
“It is not enough to win away matches, it is not enough to play 20-25 minutes on the level we want. It is too easy to put us off balance, to beat us, to confuse us. It is too easy. It happened against Leeds. We need to understand why and find solutions,” he said.
“We lose concentration, we lose our plan and lose consistency, it is too easy to beat us.
“A lot of key players are injured, it is something I don’t really understand. You can always lose football matches and I am humble enough to admit this but in a match where you are in the lead there is no need to give away half chances. To have no answers in the second half was disappointing.
“We need to have answers, we need to step up and play a level higher if needed. We struggled to do this.”
Meanwhile, asked is something special is brewing, Southampton boss Ralph Hassenhuttl told BBC Sport: “Yes. I said it from the first day that we have the feeling that we have a team that is young but there is a lot of empty space on the hard disk and they can learn. They have fun working hard, they have fun running a lot and, when the moment comes, they have fun scoring goals.
“We have won one time away at Chelsea since I was here, that was four years ago but at home not for a while and it was time to take something.”
Southampton player ratings
Gavin Bazunu – Could do nothing to stop Sterling from opening the scoring, but was on hand to deny Chelsea on a couple of occasions in the first half. 6/10
Kyle Walker-Peters – A decent outlet for Southampton down the right and put in a number of good crosses. 7/10
Armel Bella-Kotchap – Has already impressed this season and continued to prove why Southampton may well have bought a gem from Bochum. Held his own against Sterling and Havertz and was arguably man of the match. 8/10
Mohammed Salisu – A couple of long throws tested Chelsea, while he almost headed in a third for Southampton before Silva cleared it off the line. 6/10
Romain Perraud – Replacing Moussa Djenepo, his efforts to deny Sterling midway through the first half were in vain. Enjoyed his time attacking, however, with Azpilicueta a target to expose. 7/10
James Ward-Prowse – Southampton’s first goal came from his corner, with his delivery typically on point throughout. 7/10
Romeo Lavia – Scored the first goal of his senior career when quickly composing himself on the edge of the area and firing in an effort too strong for Mendy to keep out. Picked up a knock in the second half. 7/10
On repeat
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Adam Armstrong – Got the better of Azpilicueta early on but failed to seize the opportunity. Got the goal he deserved late in the first half when meeting Perraud’s cross. 7/10
Ibrahima Diallo – In for his first start ahead of Joe Aribo, was on hand to thwart Chelsea’s advances on numerous occasions. 6/10
Mohamed Elyounoussi – Early tester for Mendy, and showed great hustle early in the second half to frustrate Kovacic as Southampton sought to preserve their lead. Almost headed in a third. 7/10
Che Adams – Was up for the physical battle against Silva and Koulibaly from the get go, winning Southampton corners and free-kicks and displaying quality hold-up play throughout. 7/10
Subs:
Joe Aribo – On for Lavia just before the hour-mark. 6/10
Moussa Djenepo – On at left-back with 20 minutes remaining. 6/10
Lyanco – Late sub. n/a
Chelsea player ratings
Edouard Mendy – Could only get a weak palm to Lavia’s leveller and had no chance of denying Armstrong. 6/10
Cesar Azpilicueta – With Reece James ill and not in the matchday squad, Chelsea’s club captain started from the off, and it was his half-clearance which Lavia latched onto for the equaliser. Was second-best against Armstrong moments later, and was neither here nor there when Southampton attacked down his side and scored their second. Was targeted again in the second half before being replaced by Chilwell. Did not enjoy the best of nights. 4/10
Thiago Silva – Rarely put a foot wrong despite Chelsea falling 2-1 down in the first half, and made a vital goal-line clearance to flick away Salisu’s header. 6/10
Kalidou Koulibaly – A busy evening for Chelsea’s centre-backs, and Koulibaly amended his own error after a sloppy pass in the second half, although no real standout moment. 6/10
Marc Cucurella – Showed plenty of drive down the left, and somehow blocked Elyounoussi’s header with the score at 2-1. A nuisance, and he clearly enjoys it, but not his team’s night. 6/10
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – Did little in the first half and jogged around without a purpose when Southampton took a 2-1 lead. Came off at half-time, and footage showed him with an ice pack on his right knee on the bench in the second half. 5/10
Jorginho – Too easily passed for Southampton’s second goal, struggled in the DM role and missed his regular midfield team-mates N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic. At least Kovacic was on the bench, which Jorginho eventually made his way to when replaced in the second half. 5/10
Mason Mount – Was central to Chelsea’s bright start early on, but ran out of steam as the visitors toiled. 6/10
Raheem Sterling – After his double on the weekend, his first attempt against Southampton was too timid despite doing well to work the space. Was caught between shooting and playing it over to Havertz moments later, but was eventually tackled by Bella-Kotchap, although it was not long before Sterling tapped in for the lead. 7/10
Kai Havertz – Squandered a half-chance when Chelsea led 1-0, and headed well over when getting ahead of Walker-Peters. Chelsea need a No 9 to covert those chances, and it proved to be his last touch of the night. 5/10
Hakim Ziyech – Starting amid reports of a loan move back to Ajax before the transfer window closes, and did little to suggest Tuchel will continue to play him – or keep him. 5/10
Subs:
Mateo Kovacic – Was given plenty of half-time instructions, including from Tuchel, after Chelsea’s poor end to the first half. Busy on the ball but nothing really came from it. Nevertheless, a welcome 45 minutes for Chelsea. 6/10
Christian Pulisic – Came on in the second half. 6/10
Ben Chilwell – Part of the triple sub. 6/10
Armando Broja – A warm welcome in the second half for the player who spent last season on loan at Southampton. 6/10
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