On paper, this match looked like it would be a good contest between two teams at the right end of the table, with two of the best defences in the league coming up against each other. However, Chelsea had a really bad result in the week against Paris Saint-Germain which they would be looking to bounce back quickly from and Southampton haven't had a great time against the top sides in the league this season. Chelsea also had the added incentive of being able to go 8 points clear at the top of the Premier League table after Manchester City suffered a shock defeat to Burnley yesterday.
Southampton did start the game brightly though, and pushed forward each time that they had the ball. The forward pass didn't necessarily come off straight away, but it did give Chelsea an early warning to how dangerous their opposition could be. Even still, Chelsea definitely started the strongest and were having the clearest chances out of the two. Cesar Azpilicueta had the first chance of the game as he came inside from the left side, but his shot was always curling high and wide of the crossbar. Two minutes later, Eden Hazard led a Chelsea break through, but didn't go straight for goal, opting instead to play around the Southampton defence first. Eventually, the ball landed at the feet of Willian who took on the shot from a very tight angle, but Southampton cleared the danger at the cost of a corner.
It didn't take long for the Chelsea pressure to come off though as Hazard was at the centre of a Chelsea attack once again. He spread the play out to Branislav Ivanovic on the right side and his cross sailed over the Southampton defence before Diego Costa jumped highest and fired the ball past Fraser Forster with practically no pressure around him or the ball. This was exactly the start that Chelsea were looking for to bounce back after their latest setback in midweek.
Southampton didn't let this faze them though, and seemed to become stronger after Chelsea took the lead. Ryan Bertrand led a Southampton and played in Dusan Tadic. He found Victor Wanyama inside the box, and he aimed his shot low but straight at Thibaut Courtois who got down well to deal with the shot, but he could only palm it away to Tadic, whose follow-up shot isn't far away from nestling itself into the top left corner of the net.
On 18 minutes, Sadio Mané made a determined run into the Chelsea penalty area, but is stopped by Nemanja Matic who takes the forward down in the box, leaving the referee with the only option of awarding a penalty. Tadic stepped up the kick, and he was extremely calm about it as he aimed his shot down the centre of the goal. Courtois does get a leg to the ball, but can't do enough to stop the ball from finishing up in the net. Southampton had deserved to score at this point, and it all looked to be going away from Chelsea once again.
Southampton only got stronger as the half carried on, as not long after the goal, Tadic was in on goal once again. His powerful shot from outside of the box struck Gary Cahill on the arm on its way through towards goal, but he was too close for a foul to be given. As they went for the follow-up shot, the player was caught offside, but Chelsea couldn't get out of their half of the pitch. Tadic found himself in a lot of space down the left on the half hour mark after he was played in by Shane Long, but his half volley was easily dealt with by Courtois. The Southampton pressure wasn't over yet though as Bertrand crossed the ball into the box and a mix up between Courtois and Cahill almost gifts them a goal, but they just manage to get it clear and avoid a further embarrassment.
Chelsea did get a final chance just before the whistle blew for half time. Cesc Fabregas puts a good ball into the box after a long spell of Chelsea possession. Costa gets up higher than Jose Fonte and gets his head to the ball, but can only watch as his header loops over the crossbar. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't build on this straight after the second half started. Chelsea made a sloppy start to the second half and Matic quickly gave away a free kick in a dangerous position. He was lucky to not receive a second yellow card for the late challenge. The free kick was taken by Toby Alderweireld and he forced Courtois to pull off a brilliant save to deny his team the lead.
Chelsea grew into the game after this and began to put a lot more pressure on the Southampton defence as they chased the goal that would win them the game. Costa had another chance to double his goal tally for the game, but his shot hit the woodwork before bouncing back into play. Southampton couldn't clear their lines though and he had another chance not long after, this time for an overhead kick which was blocked.
After the warning signs from Chelsea, Southampton still weren't ready to sit back and defend for the rest of the match and Tadic proved this when he brushed past 3 Chelsea defenders to create space for Long in the box. Cahill was once again in the right place to make an important block for his team. This proved to be the last big chance for Southampton though, as Chelsea began to build up the pressure again.
Forster was incredible in goal for the last quarter of the match, in particular when he pulled off a double save to deny Chelsea. The first was a header from Oscar which just hits Forster who is lucky he was in the position he was, but the follow-up from Hazard produced a good reflex save from the keeper who turned it off the post for a corner. Only a few minutes later, Oscar had another good chance with nobody around him in Southampton colours, but his shot is well saved by Forster who sticks out his left arm.
In the final minutes of the game, Azpilicueta had another chance from the left, and his curling shot almost caught out Forster at his near post, but he got down well to smother the chance. The corner which followed this caused a lot of problems for Southampton as the initial shot is saved by Forster, but John Terry is on hand to collect the rebound, but that shot is blocked as well. He did get another chance to win the game for his team in the final minute but he could only take a wild swing at the ball that went wide of the far post.
This means that Chelsea now have a 6 point gap at the top, but still hold an advantage over Man City as they also have a game in hand. If they want to win the league and look confident while doing so, they will certainly need to make some improvements to certain parts of their game; otherwise the title race could be thrown wide open once again. But take nothing away from Southampton. They defended the point that they won extremely well during the second half and completely deserved the result they got today. It could be important for their race to be in the top four as well, who knows?
Southampton did start the game brightly though, and pushed forward each time that they had the ball. The forward pass didn't necessarily come off straight away, but it did give Chelsea an early warning to how dangerous their opposition could be. Even still, Chelsea definitely started the strongest and were having the clearest chances out of the two. Cesar Azpilicueta had the first chance of the game as he came inside from the left side, but his shot was always curling high and wide of the crossbar. Two minutes later, Eden Hazard led a Chelsea break through, but didn't go straight for goal, opting instead to play around the Southampton defence first. Eventually, the ball landed at the feet of Willian who took on the shot from a very tight angle, but Southampton cleared the danger at the cost of a corner.
It didn't take long for the Chelsea pressure to come off though as Hazard was at the centre of a Chelsea attack once again. He spread the play out to Branislav Ivanovic on the right side and his cross sailed over the Southampton defence before Diego Costa jumped highest and fired the ball past Fraser Forster with practically no pressure around him or the ball. This was exactly the start that Chelsea were looking for to bounce back after their latest setback in midweek.
Southampton didn't let this faze them though, and seemed to become stronger after Chelsea took the lead. Ryan Bertrand led a Southampton and played in Dusan Tadic. He found Victor Wanyama inside the box, and he aimed his shot low but straight at Thibaut Courtois who got down well to deal with the shot, but he could only palm it away to Tadic, whose follow-up shot isn't far away from nestling itself into the top left corner of the net.
On 18 minutes, Sadio Mané made a determined run into the Chelsea penalty area, but is stopped by Nemanja Matic who takes the forward down in the box, leaving the referee with the only option of awarding a penalty. Tadic stepped up the kick, and he was extremely calm about it as he aimed his shot down the centre of the goal. Courtois does get a leg to the ball, but can't do enough to stop the ball from finishing up in the net. Southampton had deserved to score at this point, and it all looked to be going away from Chelsea once again.
Southampton only got stronger as the half carried on, as not long after the goal, Tadic was in on goal once again. His powerful shot from outside of the box struck Gary Cahill on the arm on its way through towards goal, but he was too close for a foul to be given. As they went for the follow-up shot, the player was caught offside, but Chelsea couldn't get out of their half of the pitch. Tadic found himself in a lot of space down the left on the half hour mark after he was played in by Shane Long, but his half volley was easily dealt with by Courtois. The Southampton pressure wasn't over yet though as Bertrand crossed the ball into the box and a mix up between Courtois and Cahill almost gifts them a goal, but they just manage to get it clear and avoid a further embarrassment.
Chelsea did get a final chance just before the whistle blew for half time. Cesc Fabregas puts a good ball into the box after a long spell of Chelsea possession. Costa gets up higher than Jose Fonte and gets his head to the ball, but can only watch as his header loops over the crossbar. Unfortunately for them, they couldn't build on this straight after the second half started. Chelsea made a sloppy start to the second half and Matic quickly gave away a free kick in a dangerous position. He was lucky to not receive a second yellow card for the late challenge. The free kick was taken by Toby Alderweireld and he forced Courtois to pull off a brilliant save to deny his team the lead.
Chelsea grew into the game after this and began to put a lot more pressure on the Southampton defence as they chased the goal that would win them the game. Costa had another chance to double his goal tally for the game, but his shot hit the woodwork before bouncing back into play. Southampton couldn't clear their lines though and he had another chance not long after, this time for an overhead kick which was blocked.
After the warning signs from Chelsea, Southampton still weren't ready to sit back and defend for the rest of the match and Tadic proved this when he brushed past 3 Chelsea defenders to create space for Long in the box. Cahill was once again in the right place to make an important block for his team. This proved to be the last big chance for Southampton though, as Chelsea began to build up the pressure again.
Forster was incredible in goal for the last quarter of the match, in particular when he pulled off a double save to deny Chelsea. The first was a header from Oscar which just hits Forster who is lucky he was in the position he was, but the follow-up from Hazard produced a good reflex save from the keeper who turned it off the post for a corner. Only a few minutes later, Oscar had another good chance with nobody around him in Southampton colours, but his shot is well saved by Forster who sticks out his left arm.
In the final minutes of the game, Azpilicueta had another chance from the left, and his curling shot almost caught out Forster at his near post, but he got down well to smother the chance. The corner which followed this caused a lot of problems for Southampton as the initial shot is saved by Forster, but John Terry is on hand to collect the rebound, but that shot is blocked as well. He did get another chance to win the game for his team in the final minute but he could only take a wild swing at the ball that went wide of the far post.
This means that Chelsea now have a 6 point gap at the top, but still hold an advantage over Man City as they also have a game in hand. If they want to win the league and look confident while doing so, they will certainly need to make some improvements to certain parts of their game; otherwise the title race could be thrown wide open once again. But take nothing away from Southampton. They defended the point that they won extremely well during the second half and completely deserved the result they got today. It could be important for their race to be in the top four as well, who knows?
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