After a rather abysmal week for the team led by Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea visited the Saint Mary’s stadium with so much to change and prove.
The last two games since the international break had seen Chelsea forsake her doctrines of being tidy and tight at the back to a side shipping in 7 goals in two games at the Bridge. The Saint’s Mary stadium afforded the Londoners a breath of fresh air from the Bridge as Chelsea took on Southampton in a bid to turn things around.
Chelsea did start like a side brutally bruised by recent results and that saw the blues go on a rampage in the early minutes of the match with Werner in particular playing with a point to prove registering three shots at goal before the 20th minute mark.
Chelsea got the reward for their impressive start after some brilliant play down the right by Ruben Loftus-Cheek who lifted a pass to find Mount in the box before the Chelsea number 19 showed great awareness to lay it on for Marcos Alonso to smash Chelsea into the lead. Chelsea 1-0 up on the 8th minute.
After the restart, the game followed the exact same pattern with Chelsea racking up attempts on the Saints goal with either the post or a brilliant Fraser Foster deterring Chelsea from adding even more to their tally.
Mason Mount soon added to his tally with a brilliant strike at the edge of the box for his 9th premier league goal of the season afterwards Werner rounded Foster for Chelsea’s third after a bad back pass from Ward Prowse put him through on goal before Kai registered his effort after Werner had struck the left hand post. Four nil to Chelsea going into the halftime break.
The second half kicked off with Tuchel making a change (Kai off for Pulisic) but the game was finally put to bed as Werner got his second of the day after some intelligent play by Kante who tried to chip the balm over Foster before the goalie parried the ball into Werner’s path for a simple tap in. The goal scoring wasn’t done even at 5-0 and Mount soon followed suit, registering his second goal of the game (and 10th of this premier league season) after a mix up in the saints box.
6-0! Southampton at the end of another thrashing!
Here are 5 lessons learned as Chelsea trounce Southampton in preparation for Madrid;
Chelsea profit from fast start
Lethargic starts have often been the lot of Chelsea in recent games leading to opponents growing in confidence and stature through the rest of the game and that wasn’t the case here in the Saints Mary’s stadium as Chelsea firmly placed their foot on the pedal right from the blast of the whistle till the very end of the first half often pinning Southampton in their half.
Blues blaze past Saints!
Kovaciç makes Chelsea click
It might be something of a coincidence that Kovaciç started neither of Chelsea’s drubbing in the past two games and the performance of the team did noticeably improve after he came on.
Here against Southampton, Kovaciç being paired with Kante ensured Ward Prowse barely had a sniff of the ball around the penalty area of the blues with Kovaciç doing a proper job off the ball against the Englishman.
The Croat played deeper of the pivot and his energy in recovering the ball ensured Chelsea regained the ball in the middle of the park more often than would be possible with Jorginho lacking the legs of the former Madrid midfielder.
Kovaciç has been Chelsea’s best player when fit and it would be a surprise if he doesn’t start on his return to the Spanish capital on Tuesday.
Pulisic’s dwindling form
Before the March international break, Pulisic was gradually returning to his best form with wonderful performances against Lille in the champions league and Burnley in the premier league.
Right since returning from sending the United States of America to the World Cup in Qatar, Pulisic has struggled to replicate the form he showed before going on the break to represent his nation.
Here in the south coast coming on as a halftime substitute, Pulisic struggled to have an impact just as in the last game in the UCL against Madrid.
Against Madrid in the UCL, Pulisic struggled to get going and barely beat his marker while his touches here in the south coast were off and attacks broke down as result of either his heavy touches or his poor reaction.
Captain America has to get back on form.
Werner’s statement
Chelsea’s German striker Timo Werner, has struggled for form and consistency since joining Chelsea and despite his struggles, he’s remained a fan favorite due to his work-rate.
The German started brightly here in the south coast and on another day could have scored a 20 minutes hattrick.
Werner’s non-stop running and fox-like movement around the penalty area often causes trouble for opposing defenders and that was no different here at the Saint Mary’s stadium with one instance of Werner’s pace putting him through on goal to score his first of the game.
Werner continued his fluid movement and direct style of play and could have gotten his second of the game much earlier after winning possession right on the edge of the Saints box before brilliantly creating space with a couple of feints before striking the right hand post only for the ball to find its way to Kai for Chelsea’s fourth.
Werner would hope he’s done enough to stake a claim for a starter’s shirt in Madrid on Tuesday.
Mason thrives as a number “10”
Mason Mount got into game at the Saint Mary’s stadium with a reduced haircut but a much improved performance as he often dictated the attacking play of the team right in the number 10 role.
Mason has often relished the challenge of playing as a natural playmaker in the number 10 role and most of his great performances for Chelsea have come when he plays in the number 10 role.
This season, Mason’s best games prior to this (Both legs against Norwich) saw him play in the free role behind the striker(s) as a number 10 with the license afforded him to roam across the frontline often utilized to his best advantage with goals and assist.
Mason was often the “free man” in midfield and found time and space to shoot and score his 9th and 10th goal of this premier league season.
Money Mase on the money!
Player Ratings:
Mendy 7/10, RLC 8/10, Silva 8/10, Rudiger 8/10, Alonso 9/10, Kante 8/10, Kovaciç 9/10, Mount 10, Kai 9/10, Werner 10.
Subs: Pulisic 5/10, James 6/10, Ziyech 6/10.
Man of the Match: Mason Mount 10.
Chelsea now concentrate on their huge Champions league tie against Real Madrid hoping to turn a 1-3 deficit in the Spanish capital in the 12th of April. Kickoff is 8pm (UK time)
