Southampton 1-4 Chelsea: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis | Premier League 2019-20
Chelsea secured a crucial victory over Southampton courtesy of goals from Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi to move to 14 points from eight games.
The win was also their fourth consecutive three points, having registered three earlier against Grimsby Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and LOSC Lille. Meanwhile, Southampton have lost three Premier League matches in a row now - a run that has pushed the side to the bottom five.
The Saints are yet to win a game at St. Mary's since March, and have only collected one point out of the seven they have in their kitty, so far this season.
On an overall note, Chelsea held a firm grip on proceedings and were impervious to the Southampton challenge. Kante's goal following Danny Ings' timely strike provided them with a cushion, after which they never looked back. To add to the hosts' misery, Batshuayi got his goal as well.
On that note, we look at the major talking points from Chelsea's 3-1 victory over Southampton.
#1 Lampard reverts to 4-2-3-1 at Southampton
Frank Lampard, ever since taking over the reins at Chelsea, has illustrated his essence as a manager who believes in fluidity and most notably, the concept of change and dynamism. Unlike what we saw from Maurizio Sarri, Lampard has fielded a host of formations, systems and in turn, methods.
Today, he started with four at the back. Captain Cesar Azpilicueta kept his place in the side, with Marcos Alonso filling the other side of the backline. Alongside young Fikayo Tomori was Kurt Zouma, perhaps because Andreas Christensen needed a breather.
There were two and not three central midfielders. Jorginho, recently appointed as the club's vice-captain for the season, partnered the engine in N'Golo Kante.
The headline prior to the game was stolen by Callum Hudson-Odoi though, as he made his first start for the senior team down the left. Willian occupied the opposite flank, allowing Mason Mount to run the game from his desired number 10 position.
Tammy Abraham of course, spearheaded the Chelsea attack as the lone striker. Michy Batshuayi and Christian Pulisic made the bench, while Olivier Giroud failed to make the matchday squad.