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Southampton vs. Chelsea: 0:3
The Blues are coming off a big win away to Southampton.
Despite the big final score and the ease with which the win was achieved in the south of England, the Blues did not play without mistakes. The overall superiority of Maurizio Sarri's side in terms of play and statistics was slightly undermined by the number of dangerous situations they created. The luck of the home forwards, the timely and committed play of the Chelsea defenders and, of course, the saves of Kepa Arrizabalaga allowed the Londoners to return from St. Mary's without conceding a goal.
Other than that, the Londoners were good, completely outplaying their opponents, dominating possession and making the most of their chances. Victory on the eve of the weekend's marquee match will allow the Blues to spend a few hours at the top of the table, something that was hard to believe at the start of the season.
The game started at a fast pace with both teams looking to attack. In the 7th minute, Azar burst into the box on a pass from Willian and unleashed a powerful low shot. Bednarek managed to block the ball and then blocked the second shot. The rebound was collected by Willian, who unleashed a powerful shot from the left corner of the box that hit the defender's leg. In the 17th minute, Kante left the ball on the line for Barkley. Ross fired a powerful shot that flew inches over the crossbar.
On 23 minutes, Gabbiadini fired a long-range shot into the middle of the net. Kepa was on target. A few minutes later, Aspilicueta failed to deny Bertrand on the flank, leaving the home captain free to shoot. Ings was left unmarked by the defenders, allowing him to fire into an empty net from five yards out. The ball miraculously cleared the crossbar.
The first defensive lapse proved fatal for the Saints. In the 30th minute, Barkley managed to steal the ball from defender Heybjerg and with his next touch, he cut through the Southampton defense to find Hazard one-on-one in the middle of the penalty area. The Belgian beat the goalkeeper with ease and slotted the ball under the right post.
In the 37th minute, the Saints made an interception in the middle of the field, but Gabbiadini had no choice but to shoot from 30 meters in a 2-on-3 attack. Kepa made no mistake. The visitors responded with a powerful strike from Kante from the penalty spot. Hudt once again managed to dribble under the ball at the last moment.
In the 50th minute, Willian sent an inaccurate pass towards the back of the net, but the Blues' defense was able to keep out Ings as he collected the ball. However, the home attack continued and Heibjerg's cross from the right found the far corner of the net, where the visitors failed to keep Bertrand in sight. The former Chelsea man took a touch and fired the ball over the top. Three minutes later, Ings received a pass on the left side of the penalty area, latched onto the ball and shot straight at Kepa. Kepa positioned himself cleverly to make a difficult save.
In the 57th minute, Willian lofted a free-kick to the right corner of the net, where Giroud delivered a spectacular cross parallel to the box. Barkley, who had beaten three defenders to the ball, only had to get his foot in front of it and head it into the empty net from five yards out.
In the 67th minute, Rüdiger was unfortunate to lose the ball in the penalty area to Heybjerg's leg, but made up for it by throwing himself at the opponent's powerful shot. In the 79th minute, Redmond attacked from 25 meters. Kepa took a couple of steps back and tipped the ball over the crossbar with his fingertips. On the counter-attack, Hazard's pass found Morata one-on-one with the goalkeeper and he curled the ball into the near corner. McCarthy played to his strengths. Kepa was soon called into action, tipping Ings' low shot onto the crossbar from just inside the area.
In the third minute of added time, Azar, who had played in Alonso, reached the edge of the penalty area and curled the ball gently behind the defender's back. This time, Morata found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and the Spaniard slotted home.
Players of the match from SkySports
Chelsea: Kepa (7), Aspilicueta (7), Rüdiger (7), Luiz (8), Alonso (7), Kante (6), Jorginho (7), Barkley (8), Willian (7), Giroud (7), Azar (8)
Substitutions: Pedro (6), Morata (7), Kovacic (boo)
Southampton: McCarthy (6), Soares (6), Yoshida (6), Bednarek (6), Hudt (6), Bertrand (6), Redmond (6), Heybjerg (7), Lemina (5), Gabbiadini (6), Ings (5)
Substitutions: Romeu (6), Long (5)
Player of the Match: Ross Barkley
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