Chelsea survived a horrific scare whilst Southampton blew a two-goal lead as Antonio Conte’s men took three important points from St. Mary’s. Chelsea showed excellent character and intent in the second half to avoid their sixth league defeat in the last eight games. The Blues scored thrice in the span of eight minutes and left the Saints shellshocked. Let us see how each Chelsea player fared:
Thibaut Courtois: 6/10
Courtois couldn’t have done much about the goals but as usual, was his at his commanding best whilst collecting crosses that came into the box.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 6/10
Azpi looked off the pace but grew into the game and was concentrated enough in the second half to thwart off any attacks.
Andreas Christensen: 4/10
Christensen was troubled constantly by Shane Long as the Dane was unable to keep up with the forward. Shane even bullied him off the ball and gave the young lad a tough time throughout the ninety minutes.
Gary Cahill: 6/10
The captain delivered a decent performance as he made some crucial blocks inside the box and was a calming influence and presence on the field.
Davide Zappacosta: 4/10
The wingback was unable to send in his trademark crosses as he cut a clueless figure in the final third. While defending, Zappacosta didn’t position himself well at times and hence endured a difficult outing.
Marcos Alonso: 7/10
Alonso was a constant presence along the touchline. He put in some brilliant crosses that pressurized Southampton and the Saints eventually succumbed. He was uncompromising in defence and in general, was one of the pioneers of the comeback.
N’Golo Kante: 7/10
The Frenchman was the engine in the midfield and he was up to his usual hustling and harrying.
Cesc Fabregas: 4/10
Fabregas looked lost in the midfield, looked off the pace and well, defending has never been his cup of tea, huh? Unfortunately, he did not exhibit any of his creative class too.
Willian: 6/10
The Brazilian used his pace to counter but his passes in the final third were often sloppy and his set-piece deliveries weren’t the best too. However, he was consistently hovering around the box and played a part in Hazard’s goal.
Eden Hazard: 7/10
The Belgian tried his best to create something but was let down by Alvaro Morata’s positioning. However, he scored with a safe finish and was important in all three goals as his off the ball movement was good too.
Alvaro Morata: 3/10
Morata’s struggles continued, as his touch let him down, his positioning was poor and he was embarrassingly knocked off the ball a number of times. The Spaniard has to buckle up big time and faces an uphill task to regain faith.
Substitutes:
Pedro: 5/10
Did not do anything special barring one splendid step-over from the right flank and he cut inside to create a chance.
Olivier Giroud: 10/10
Giroud came to the party big time and scored two goals to belatedly announce his arrival in style at Chelsea.
Victor Moses: 5/10
Did not have much time to leave a lasting impact.