Chelsea registered a comfortable 3-0 victory over a struggling Southampton side earlier today. Eden Hazard continued his purple patch with a well-taken first-half goal and Ross Barkley’s first goal for Chelsea pretty much ended the hosts’ hopes before Alvaro Morata scored the third goal after coming off the bench.
Chelsea player ratings
Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6/10
Arrizabalaga had to deal with a few late attempts but did well to keep his focus and pick up the clean-sheet
Cesar Azpilicueta – 7/10
Azpilicueta supported Willian well as he often provided an extra attacking outlet. Defensively, he was solid and had a good game overall.
Antonio Rudiger – 7/10
Rudiger was robust and dominant at the back.
David Luiz – 6/10
Luiz had a rather easy game as Southampton hardly did anything to trouble the Brazilian. He passed the ball out from the back very effectively and contributed to the build-up play.
Marcos Alonso – 7/10
Alonso enjoyed acres of space down the left, played the ball around well and was a constant offensive threat. However, he could have been more accurate with his crossing.
Jorginho – 8/10
Jorginho passed the ball around and maintained a good tempo in midfield.
Ross Barkley – 8/10
Maurizio Sarri revealed that Barkley played instead of Kovacic because the Englishman was constantly improving. He justified these statements and was a livewire in the midfield with his driving runs through the centre.
N’Golo Kante – 7/10
Kante was energetic and carried on the press with perfection. The Frenchman’s defensive work-ethic allowed Chelsea to recover possession and keep the heat on Southampton.
Willian – 6/10
Willian wasn’t incisive with his deliveries into the box and his passing was a bit wayward too. He offered pace but not the end product.
Eden Hazard – 9/10
Hazard continued his surreal form as his overall movement without the ball was supreme. He opened the scoring with a neat finish and continued to torment Southampton’s backline throughout the match.
Olivier Giroud – 8/10
Yet again, Giroud proved why a striker doesn’t necessarily need to score goals in a particular setup. He was brilliant with his interlinking.
Substitutes
Alvaro Morata: 7/10
Scored the third with a well-taken finish and that will boost his confidence.
Pedro – 5/10
Pedro couldn’t provide much incision in the final third despite running into pockets of spaces near the penalty box.
Mateo Kovacic – NA
Not much time to make an impact.