toptop
Michael
Obafemi and Nathan Redmond were on target as Southampton consigned Chelsea to a
second consecutive defeat at Stamford Bridge.
Academy product Obafemi, starting in place of the rested Danny Ings, gave
Southampton the lead when he curled home a stunning left-footed effort from the
edge of the box (31) after Chelsea had lost possession in midfield.
It was the 19-year-old's first Premier League goal in a year and things went
from bad to worse for Chelsea when Redmond finished off another slick
Southampton attack (73) in the second half.
Frank Lampard's men dominated possession but showed none of the cutting edge
that helped them beat Tottenham last time out, allowing Southampton to claim a
deserved win which lifts them up to 14th in the Premier League table.
Player ratings
Chelsea: Kepa (6), Azpilicueta (5), Rudiger (6), Zouma (6),
Tomori (6), Emerson (5), Kante (6), Jorginho (6), Willian (6), Hudson-Odoi (5),
Abraham (5)
Subs: Mount (7), Pulisic (6), Pedro (6)
Southampton: McCarthy (7), Soares (7), Stephens (9), Bednarek
(8), Bertrand (7), Armstrong (8), Ward-Prowse (8), Hojbjerg (8), Redmond (8),
Obafemi (8), Adams (7)
Subs: Ings (6), Romeu (6), Boufal (6)
Man of the match: Jack Stephens
How Saints stunned sluggish Chelsea
Chelsea came into the game in buoyant mood following that excellent win over
Spurs, but they looked sluggish from the start and struggled to create
meaningful chances, with Fikayo Tomori sending a tame header straight at Alex
McCarthy with their only effort on target in the first half.
A string of promising attacks broke down due to poor crosses and a lack of
composure in the final third, with the home fans showing their frustration in
the stands, but Southampton also defended superbly, with Jan Bednarek and Jack
Stephens marshalling Tammy Abraham closely.
The visitors were a threat on the counter-attack too, and it was from one such
situation that they took the lead, springing forward after Callum Hudson-Odoi
was dispossessed under the nose of the watching Lampard. Within a few seconds,
Obafemi was celebrating a memorable goal.
Lampard threw on Mason Mount for Kurt Zouma at the break, changing his system
from a back three to a back four, and the substitute made an immediate impact
when he teed up Abraham, who fired a diagonal effort into the side-netting just
seconds after the restart.
But Southampton defended resolutely and continued to look dangerous on the
break, with Redmond's pace and directness causing Chelsea problems.
In fact, the winger could - and probably should - have doubled Southampton's
lead before he did, running through on goal in the 66th minute only to be denied
by Kepa Arrizabalaga's low save.
He made amends not long afterwards when he clipped a cool finish over the
Chelsea goalkeeper after N'Golo Kante had inadvertently guided the ball into his
path, and the hosts were unable to recover. There was a late free kick from
Mount which forced McCarthy into a save, but by the end of the game, Chelsea had
only managed three shots on target all afternoon.
The result makes it two consecutive home defeats against lower-half opposition
for Lampard's side following the 1-0 loss to Bournemouth earlier this month,
leaving Lampard to bemoan the "same old story" in his post-match press
conference. Chelsea now sit just three points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham in
the table
Lampard: We need to do more offensively
Frank Lampard: "It's the same story as a few of the last home
games. I said after Spurs that we need to make sure we reproduce that kind of
performance, but I'll probably give you the exact same press conference as I did
after Bournemouth to be fair, because it's the same story.
"Teams aren't stupid. They are well organised. We need to do more in an
attacking sense. You can't have more than 70 per cent of the possession and not
do more, not hit better crosses, not hit better final passes and not get more
clear chances at goal.
"You need a form of consistency to finish in the top four because this is the
Premier League and everyone is striving for it. We're in it at Christmas and
people probably would have doubted that, so I think with perspective we can be
relatively happy.
"But if we want to stay there and look onwards and upwards rather than
backwards, we need to win more than we have won recently at home."
Hasenhuttl: Best performance of the season
Ralph Hasenhuttl: "You can have to have a tactical plan, but if
you don't have passion, it doesn't work.
"I'm most proud about the moments when we won the ball because, especially in
the second half, we showed that we can play some good passes and I think this is
important against such an opponent because when you only defend, it comes to a
moment when the pressure gets too much and you lose such games.
"It's something that has happened very often in the past but today it didn't
because we stayed brave and we tried to keep them far away from our goal. In the
end I think it was by far the best performance this season. We had a few very
good away games, but I think this was the best one."
Opta stats: Chelsea's dismal December
Chelsea have lost back to back home Premier League matches for the first time
since November 2011 under Andre Villas-Boas.
Chelsea have lost seven Premier League games this season - only one fewer than
they lost in the entirety of the 2018/19 season under Maurizio Sarri.
Southampton have won four of their last six Premier League matches, one more
than in their previous 20 games.
Chelsea had just 10 shots against Southampton, their fewest in a Premier League
game under Frank Lampard and fewest since April against Liverpool (six).
What's next?
Chelsea face Arsenal live on Sky Sports Premier League from 1pm on Sunday at the
Emirates Stadium (kick-off 2pm), while Southampton are at home to Crystal Palace
on Saturday, kicking off at 3pm at St Mary's Stadium.
Click Here For Official Team Sheet
Teams
Chelsea Kepa, Rudiger, Tomori, Zouma (Mount 46), Azpilicueta
(c), Kante, Jorginho, Emerson, Willian (Pedro 84), Hudson-Odoi (Pulisic 67),
Abraham
Subs Not Used Caballero, Christensen, Barkley, Batshuayi
Booked Jorginho, Kante, Tomori
Goals
Southampton McCarthy, Soares, Stephens, Bednarek, Bertrand,
Armstrong (Romeu 86), Ward-Prowse, Hojbjerg (c), Redmond, Obafemi (Ings 69),
Adams (Boufal 80)
Subs Not Used Gunn, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Danso
Booked Bertrand, Boufal
Goals Obafemi 31, Redmond 73
Attendance 40,651
Referee Chris Kavanagh