hero-image

Southampton 1-4 Chelsea: 3 players who impressed and 2 who were poor

Both substitutes were involved in Chelsea's fourth goal
Both substitutes were involved in Chelsea's fourth goal

Chelsea registered two wins in a row by beating the Saints convincingly in a 4-1 away win. It leaves Southampton still looking for their first home win of the season as they go into some tricky upcoming fixtures.

The Blues actually had to cope with some early pressure from Ralph Hasenhuttl's men and nearly paid the price, but Tammy Abraham's cheeky 17th-minute goal turned the tide and Chelsea began to dictate the play. It wouldn't be long before Mason Mount got on the scoresheet for the fourth time in the league at the end of a superb passing move for Chelsea and double their lead.

When Southampton clawed one back less than 10 minutes later, Chelsea fans would've held their breath given their tendency to give away leads under Frank Lampard, but N'Golo Kante allayed some of those fears when his deflected shot just before half-time gave Chelsea their cushion back.

A more conservative Chelsea appeared in the second half and denied Southampton space and time to operate while creating little themselves. It would only be at the end of the game that substitutes Christian Pulisic and Michy Batshuayi would combine to put Chelsea's fourth on the board.

Plenty of impressive performances around the park, but we start with the obvious:

Impressive: N'Golo Kante

Kante showed a different side of his game against Southampton
Kante showed a different side of his game against Southampton

Almost every time he steps on the pitch, the French midfielder has a good game. This one was special in a different light. Kante did all things you usually expect him to do, chasing the ball, nicking it off the feet of the opposition, and providing his backline with much-needed support.

Yet he also showed a drop of the shoulder in midfield and was able to take on players and find a pass or run beyond them. He made himself available to receive the ball and turn on multiple occasions and successfully turned a defensive situation into a positive attacking phase for Chelsea.

His deflected goal was just a cherry on top of this absolutely delicious performance.

You may also like