Southampton
pulled off a superb win as they came from behind to beat Chelsea at Stamford
Bridge. Willian scored the opener from a free-kick, before Steven Davis
restored parity with a half-volley on the stroke of half-time. In the second
period, Sadio Mané and Graziano Pellè both struck to give Saints a well-deserved
triumph in West London.
As the teamsheets came in at 4.30, there was
somewhat of a surprise from the home camp. In changes from their encounter with
Newcastle, captain John Terry returned, along with Ramires, Willian and Radamel
Falcao; in place of Kurt Zouma, Nemanja Matić, Pedro and Loïc Rémy. Meanwhile, Ronald
Koeman made one alteration in an attempt to shore up his midfield, with James
Ward-Prowse making way for former Blue, Oriol Romeu.
Southampton started the contest well, as they
managed to get their foot on the ball, yet it was Chelsea who opened the
scoring in the tenth minute. The home side won a free-kick as Romeu clipped
Eden Hazard when the Belgian showed some of his signature dazzling footwork. 30
yards from goal on the left wing, Willian
hit an opportunist effort which curled beyond Maarten Stekelenburg, and
into the back of the net via the far post. This did not perturb Saints though,
as they continued to hold possession when they could in the midfield, and bide
their time. They should have benefited from the award of a penalty when a free-kick
came in from the left, but referee Bobby Madley did not acknowledge the fact
that Branislav Ivanović was tugging on Virgil van Dijk’s shirt.
Southampton had an opportunity to level
shortly afterwards, as Dušan Tadić played Davis in on the right side of the
box, however the midfielder could only lash the ball into the Stamford Bridge
crowd. The away side were having some joy though, particularly the three
players behind Pellè. Tadić, Davis and Mané often changed positions as they
looked to find pockets of space in behind Chelsea’s defensive midfield, and
constantly troubled their hosts. Just after the half-hour mark, Saints had
another stonewall penalty appeal, but Bobby Madley waved away their pleas. Mané
jinked his way past Ramires who upended the Senegalese, however the referee was
not interested. The attacker’s tumble was somewhat theatrical, yet it was a
clear foul. To add insult to injury, he was booked for simulation a minute
later, when Ivanović swept his legs away illegally.
The visitors sensed the anxious atmosphere
amongst the home crowd and players, and continued to test the hosts. In the 41st
minute, the effective Mané ran crossfield from the right side, weaving his way
past Chelsea players, and slipped Ryan Bertrand in on the left side, but the
left-back could only slam his shot against Asmir Begović. The stopper could do
nothing moments later though. Throughout the game, Pellè bullied both Gary Cahill
and John Terry; highlighted particularly well in the build-up to the equaliser.
The Italian brushed off Cahill to expertly chest a lofted José Fonte ball
towards Davis, who hit it cleanly on
the half-volley to beat the ‘keeper from the edge of the area. The goal was
evidence of how Southampton have the ability to mix their game up when the
striker spearheads their attack. He has great technique which complements Saints’
attractive style, however his strength as an archetypal targetman who can
gather long balls and bring his teammates into play is not to be overlooked.
There was action from both benches at the
break, as Matić replaced Ramires, while Ward-Prowse came on for the cautioned
Romeu in a positive switch from Koeman. The Dutchman would have been delighted
as Saints continued to push Chelsea. Tadić found space down the left side to
roll the ball to Mané at the near post, but his effort was well saved by Begović
– the forward was not deterred though, as he collected the ball once again,
however his shot was blocked by a Blue shirt. Despite this, Chelsea still could
not clear their lines, and Tadić turned his countryman Ivanović inside out before
finding Mané in the box, but his low drive ricocheted off a Blues player to
Ward-Prowse, who could only rifle the rebound wide.
Chelsea nearly punished Southampton for not
taking those opportunities as Fonte attempted to let a pass run through to
Stekelenburg, but Falcao touched the ball past the stopper – only for the
Colombian to dramatically fall to ground before the Dutchman made contact. The
striker was duly booked, and matters got worse for Chelsea moments later, as
Southampton took the lead in the 60th minute. Pellè hit a low pass
into Mané on the edge of the area –
the speedster turned away from Terry,
leaving the veteran captain grounded in his wake, before slotting the ball past
Begović. From that point, Saints managed the game well as Chelsea struggled to
mount a serious attack. In defensive midfield, Ward-Prowse used the ball
sensibly along with Victor Wanyama while Cédric Soares also caught the eye, as
he repeatedly denied Hazard and César Azpilicueta time and space.
Southampton did not rest on their laurels
though, as they added a third goal in the 72nd minute. Pellè intercepted the ball in his own
half before setting Mané away, who sped towards the backtracking Blues defence,
before picking out the Italian international in the right side of the box – the
striker took one touch to steady himself, then slammed a low shot across Begović
into the far corner. At this point in proceedings, José Mourinho decided to
throw the proverbial kitchen sink at Saints, as he hauled off half-time
substitute Matić to bring on Rémy. Despite having a plethora of offensive
players on the pitch and plenty of possession in the final twenty minutes,
Chelsea’s attack was blunt. In fact, it was the visitors who nearly scored a
fourth. A lofted pass towards Mané was controlled by Cahill, but he was muscled
off the ball by the Senegalese who ran to the byline down the left wing, before
rolling it across to Tadić – the winger controlled the ball, and used Davis as
a decoy runner before firing a shot in, however Terry blocked well. That was to
be the last piece of goalmouth action in the game, as Southampton saw out a
memorable victory.
Man
of the Match
Sadio
Mané: Playing
primarily down the centre behind Pellè, the attacker petrified Cahill and Terry
with his pace and direct play throughout the match. He also played his part as
one of a cohesive attacking midfield trio, as he linked up well with Tadić and
Davis. Their fluid movement repeatedly opened up the Chelsea backline, yet the
Senegalese was the stand-out performer.
Teams
and Ratings
Chelsea
Begović 7 – Ivanović 5, Cahill 5, Terry (C)
5, Azpilicueta 6 – Ramires 6 (Matić 45’ 5 (Rémy 73’ 5)), Fàbregas 5 – Willian 6
(Pedro 64’ 5), Oscar 6, Hazard 6 – Falcao 5
Goals: Willian (10’)
Bookings: Ramires, Falcao
Southampton
Stekelenburg 6 – Soares 8, Fonte (C) 7, Van
Dijk 7, Bertrand 7 – Romeu 6 (Ward-Prowse 45’ 7), Wanyama 7 – S. Davis 8, Mané
8 (Yoshida 90+2’ N/A), Tadić 7 (Rodriguez 78’ N/A) – Pellè 8
Goals: S. Davis
(43’), Mané (60’), Pellè (72’)
Bookings: Romeu, Mané, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse,
Pellè
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