Chelsea maintained their remarkable Premier League (PL) away record (W5, D1, L1) as they cruised past 10-man Southampton 5-1, moving to within seven points of table-toppers Liverpool.
Following a pre-match light show at St Mary’s, a heavily-rotated Chelsea lineup delivered a performance of their own during a lively first half. The visitors surged into an advantage with seven minutes gone when Axel Disasi’s header steered Enzo Fernández’s corner across the line. However, having never lost a PL match in which they have taken the lead, the Blues were pulled back just four minutes later as Kyle Walker-Peters outpaced Fernández before crossing to Joe Aribo for an easy finish.
Defensive errors have haunted Southampton’s campaign, and yet another cost them parity here when Joe Lumley’s poor giveaway allowed Noni Madueke to locate Chelsea’s leading scorer Christopher Nkunku, who slotted into an open net – the Saints’ ninth PL blunder leading to a goal this term.
The Blues were soon pounding on the Southampton defense, hitting the post via Cole Palmer and clipping the bar through Tosin Adarabioyo before Madueke netted their third, weaving his way into the area to curl an effort into the far corner. Southampton’s uphill climb became even steeper before HT, as skipper Jack Stephens received a red card for the second time this season, sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.
An energetic start to the second half saw João Félix somehow nod wide from Palmer’s lofted cross, shortly before Tosin hammered a corner delivery off the post, with Madueke later thwarted by a last-ditch block.
The hosts had a rare opportunity to get back into the match when Filip Jörgensen denied Mateus Fernandes, but they were soon defending desperately again as Madueke forced another save from Lumley. Completely second-best for most of the match, Southampton’s second-half resistance eventually crumbled in the 77th minute, thanks in large part to Nkunku, who surprisingly opted not to shoot when through on goal, instead setting up Palmer for a simple tap-in.
The Blues capped off a brilliant evening with a fifth scorer on the sheet, as Jadon Sancho timed his run to smash home his debut goal for the club. Three points push Chelsea into outright second place and clear of Arsenal, at least momentarily, fueling speculation that they could now be in contention for the title.
Meanwhile, no team on five points at this phase of a PL season has ever stayed up – a grim statistic for Russell Martin’s Southampton side, who languish at the bottom of the league with just one victory to their name.
