Southampton 1-4 Chelsea: Premier League – Player Ratings
By Erik Franzo
Southampton fans had little to cheer about at St. Mary’s Stadium, as Chelsea handed them a decisive 4-1 loss on Sunday.
The Saints nearly opened the scoring just 45 seconds in. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s timely press opened up an opportunity for Nathan Redmond who’s clean strike sailed inches over the bar. The early shot propelled Southampton into a positive fifteen-minute spell, which was ended abruptly by a fluke Tammy Abraham goal.
James-Ward Prowse needlessly gave away the ball in midfield, sparking a Chelsea counter-attack. A long, direct ball was challenged by Maya Yoshida, but Angus Gunn planted his feet into the pitch, and Abraham knocked it high in the air overtop of the Saints players. Yoshida nearly cleared the ball off the line, but goal-line technology outwitted everyone and sent Southampton into a downward spiral of no return.
At 2-0 down, Southampton were creating next-to-nothing. Yan Valery picked up the ball for a throw in deep inside the Chelsea half, and tossed it in. Upon receiving the ball back, Valery took on five Chelsea defenders and slipped a cross into the box, finding Danny Ings at the near post. Despite everything that went wrong early on, Southampton were back in the game at 2-1.
Although, the good vibes did not last long. Ten minutes later, N’Golo Kante picked up the ball from 25 yards out and not a single Southampton player showed urgency in pressing the shooter. At 2-1, the Saints had been re-energized, and after another defensive lapse, they were done and dusted going into halftime down 3-1.
The second half there was a glimmer of hope against the mistake prone Chelsea defense, but James-Ward Prowse smashed that into the stands. Angus Gunn kept the game within striking distance with a quality save on Hudson-Odoi, but Southampton mustered nothing going forward. In fact, their best chance was from a Maya Yoshida strike.
The win at Portsmouth was monumental, but is becoming a distant memory with these Premier League performances. Saints fans need to believe Ralph Hasenhuttl can right the ship, but dodging icebergs has been tough. Here are the player ratings for Southampton in the match against Chelsea.