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Chelsea went into the game with Diego Costa serving the last of his three-game suspension and looking to make their way out of the bottom half of the Premier League (PL) table. Southampton came into the game riding on good form from winning 3-1 against Swansea in the PL which was preceded by beating Milton Keynes 6-0 in the League Cup.
Radamel Falcao was probably hoping to stake a claim in gaining a regular spot in the starting XI after the suspension to Costa. The Chelsea defence has been appalling to say the least, conceding 14 goals – one less than the total number of goals conceded by the Chelsea team that won the 2004/05 EPL title under Jose Mourinho.
Ryan Bertrand came back from injury for Southampton to face his former club. Club captain, John Terry, returned to the Chelsea squad hoping to bring stability to the brittle defence.
Chelsea took the lead in the 10th minute via a Willian free-kick, which curled above all the defenders as well as the goalkeeper and hit the inside of the right post and went in.
Southampton did not sit back and continued playing their natural game with Steven Davis going close in the 16th minute. Oscar and Hazard then missed a couple chances to push Chelsea further into the lead.
This ended up being costly in the 44th minute when Steven Davis equalised for Southampton, not before Ryan Bertrand missed a sitter to score against his former employers. Davis received a pass from Graziano Pelle on the edge of the box and smashed the ball into the goal.
The goal just before half-time aided Southampton in continuing to attack with intensity after the break. Mane went close to scoring twice and Ward-Prowse also went close shortly after.
Falcao was booked in the 57th minute for diving in the penalty box, and the referee might just have been right as Falcao was going down before the contact from the goalkeeper came.
Southampton’s domination and persistence finally paid off when Pelle bagged another assist, playing Mane through on goal who finished with composure. Mourinho then brought on Pedro for Willian.
In the 72nd minute, Mane made a great run and returned the favour when he laid off a pass to Pelle, who finished brilliantly to bury the ball in the bottom left corner of the goal. Bizarrely, Matic, who had come on as a half-time substitute, was replaced immediately after the third goal was conceded and Remy was brought on to add more striking options up front.
Tadic missed a sitter when he failed to pass the ball to Ward-Prowse and instead went for goal himself with the shot getting deflected out for a corner.
Southampton held on for a famous win thus inflicting yet another home loss for Mourinho’s Chelsea. Chelsea’s poor form continues and after a strange post-match “interview” it remains to be seen if Jose Mourinho will still keep his job at Stamford Bridge.
Watch the highlights here:
