Player Ratings: Chelsea smash Southampton to close gap on Liverpool

With a stunning display of football, Chelsea continued their impressive run with a convincing 5-1 win over a 10-man Southampton team at St Mary’s. With this win they remain within striking distance of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Strategic rotations and early leads

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca made a crucial move by shuffling his squad and bringing in fresh players after the recent win over Aston Villa. This strategy paid off early on as Axel Disasi converted Enzo Fernandez’s corner with a sharp header. Despite missing key players, Southampton started energetically, quickly equalizing through Joe Aribo and capitalizing on an excellent move from Kyle Walker-Peters.

Southampton’s self-sabotage

The momentum of the game changed significantly after Jack Stephens received a red card for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair – an act of indiscipline that left the Saints with a mountain to climb that they already had to overcome at 3-1. Southampton’s defensive weaknesses became apparent as Chelsea capitalized on mistakes and Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke contributed to the result. Despite being outnumbered, Southampton briefly showed willingness to attack, but Chelsea’s superiority was overwhelming.

Relentless Chelsea capital hit

Goalkeeper Joe Lumley performed admirably in the Southampton goal despite his ball-handling issues, but his efforts did little to stem the tide. Chelsea’s relentless pressure continued, with Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho (who scored his first Premier League goal for Chelsea) rounding out the result.

This result leaves Chelsea just seven points behind the leaders and keeping their title ambitions alive.

Player ratings

Here’s how the players fared in this high-intensity match:

Southampton:

• TW: Joe Lumley – 5/10

• RWB: James Bree – 5/10

• CB: Nathan Wood – 5/10

• CB: Jack Stephens – 4/10

• CB: Kyle Walker-Peters – 5/10

• LWB: Ryan Manning – 6/10

• CM: Ryan Fraser – 6/10

• CM: Joe Aribo – 8/10

• CM: Mateus Fernandes – 6/10

• ST: Adam Armstrong – 6/10

• ST: Cameron Archer – 6/10

• Subs:

  • Camaldeen Sulemana – 6/10

  • Ben Brereton Diaz – 6/10

  • Yukinari Sagawara – 6/10

  • Ronnie Edwards – 6.0/10

  • Charlie Taylor – 6/10

Chelsea:

• TK: Filip Jorgensen – 7/10

• RB: Malo Gusto – 8/10

• CB: Axel Disasi – 8/10

• CB: Tosin Adarabioyo – 7/10

• LB: Marc Cucurella – 6/10

• DM: Moises Caicedo – 7/10

• DM: Enzo Fernandez – 7/10

• RM: Noni Madueke – 8/10

• AM: Cole Palmer – 8/10

• LM: Joao Felix – 8/10

• ST: Christopher Nkunku – 8/10

• Subs:

Player of the match: Noni Madueke (Chelsea)

Chelsea’s strong performance against Southampton not only highlights their depth and strategic prowess, but also highlights their resilience and ability to exploit opponents’ mistakes – an essential trait for Premier League rivals.