Conte’s worry was misplaced
Before the match Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was quoted as saying he expected to “suffer” against Southampton on Saturday afternoon. He was of course vocalising the possibility of a Saints backlash following their midweek drubbing. And to pick up points at Stamford Bridge would have been the perfect response to the Leicester result.
But Conte’s concerns turned out to be largely unwarranted. Southampton did started brightly with ten minutes of high intensity football. But aside from this and a late push for an equaliser, they rarely troubled the champions.
The team certainly performed better than the eleven who started on Wednesday. But that really isn’t saying a lot, and once they settled Chelsea didn’t struggle to create chances.
Saints can count themselves lucky that Conte decided not to rush Alvaro Morata back from injury. The Chelsea manager started the Spaniard on the bench, only introducing him with 15 minutes remaining. And the lack of a gifted Chelsea finisher throughout was the only barrier to a wider score margin.