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Southampton shocked Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as they beat the Blues 2-0 in the Premier League. Two beautiful finishes from Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond were enough to break Chelsea who were coming off a thumping 2-0 victory against Spurs last weekend.
Chelsea started the game cautiously as they were hesitant in moving the ball upfield. Slowly, they grew into the game as they enjoyed the majority of possession. However, Obafemi's fantastic goal around the half-hour mark was enough to bring the Blues' morale down. Redmond finished a great team moves towards the end as Chelsea lost another game at Stamford Bridge. This loss means that Chelsea have lost the last five out of seven Premier League games.
Here, we take a look at 3 points of discussion from the game.
#1. Everyone misses the mark for the Blues
Everyone had a day off at work for the hosts, and that includes Frank Lampard. His decision to start with three center-backs was quite strange as Chelsea were going up against a team in the lower half of the table. Moreover, they were lacking their engine, Mateo Kovacic. While Jorginho, is a fantastic passer of the ball, he just lacks the quality to move up into the final third and create something.
From the first whistle of the game, Chelsea were sloppy in possession and looked stuck in their half. Both, N'Golo Kante and Jorginho, were finding it difficult to move the ball around. While Tammy Abraham didn't get quality service, he was poor in possession as he lost the ball too easily on more than one occasion. Callum Hudson-Odoi had a poor outing as well, which is discussed in detailed later on. Overall, Willian was perhaps the only player who looked positive but lacked support from the team.
#2. CHO needs a lot of time
Callum Hudson-Odoi got his first start since October against the Saints. Ever since his return from injury, he has looked rusty and hasn't been able to hit the ground running. In today's game, it was evident that Hudson-Odoi was struggling. While he was trying his best to create chances, it just wasn't coming off. There were moments where he was looking good but they were followed by a poor touch or a loose pass. Often, he looked under-confident on the ball as he chose to pass instead of going into a one-v-one.
It is important to understand that these moments are integral to the development of a young player. As he is returning from a serious injury, he needs to be given some time and patience. He has the potential to be unstoppable on his days, all he needs is some time to get back into the groove.
#1. Chelsea need to sort out their defense
Perhaps Chelsea's biggest worry this season has been their defense. Against the Saints, there was a sense of carelessness in their defending as they lost balls casually and were slow to regain possession.
The first goal started with Hudson-Odoi losing the ball easily. Soon, Fikayo Tomori failed to intercept a direct pass which reached Michael Obafemi. He was against Kurt Zouma who decided to play it safe and gave Obafemi a ton of space. Obafemi was smart enough to shift the side and take a beautiful shot that gave the Saints the lead.
The point to note here is that the Chelsea defense was very unorganized and they was no sense of urgency. As soon as Hudson-Odoi lost the ball upfield, there should have been a high press from the midfielders to regain the ball.
Throughout this campaign, Chelsea's defense has let them down. It is important that Lampard takes note of this and brings about changes that are necessary to sort the defense.
