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An injury-time equaliser from Jannik Vestergaard secured a dramatic 3-3 draw for Southampton in a topsy-turvy Premier League clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Dane’s 92nd minute effort was just reward for a determined Southampton outfit who had been more than a match for the Blues throughout th game.
Frank Lampard’s men have reason to be disappointed at the final whistle as they twice squandered the lead in the game. A first-half brace from Timo Werner had given the home side a comfortbale 2-0 cushion, but Danny Ings halved the deficit for the away side just before the break.
Southampton landed a more formidable blow to Chelsea after the break when they were back on level terms courtesy Che Adams who capitalised on a defensive mix-up in the Chelsea backline.
However, the Blues retook the lead almost instantly, with Kai Havertz emulating his countryman Werner by breaking his Premier League duck to put his side 3-2 up less than two minutes after Adams' goal.
However, with time running out, the Saints managed to drag their way back into the match yet again. In the dying seconds of the game, Vestergaard got his head onto a scuffed shot from Southampton loanee Theo Walcott.
The result leaves both sides in the top half of the Premier League table, with the Blues in fifth and Southampton in tenth. However, the away side would be the happier with the result, given the time they spent chasing the game.
On that note, here are five major talking points from an absorbing tie at Stamford Bridge.
#1 Chelsea’s new signings make their mark
Chelsea were one of the most active clubs in the summer transfer window, making several notable additions to their ranks. As a result, there has been a lot of scrutiny on the club regarding how their new signings could fare in a new league.
With both Timo Werner and Kai Havertz having opened their accounts for the Blues in the Carabao Cup, the German duo bagged their first Premier League goals against Southampton as they look to get used to life in England. In fact, after scoring his first-half brace, Werner set up Havertz to help his compatriot open his Premier League account as well.
Chelsea (and Premier League) fans also got a first look of Hakim Ziyech who came on for Mason Mount in the final 20 minutes and showed flashes of his ability during his short cameo.
Another new Chelsea signing who has been amongst the goals is left-back Ben Chilwell who scored and assisted on his Premier League debut for the Blues against Crystal Palace and bagged another assist against the Saints as well.
#2 New faces in the Southampton ranks
Chelsea aren’t the only team to have made moves in the transfer market, with Southampton also featuring a couple of new faces in their roster.
One new arrival in the Southampton team who went straight into their playing-eleven was Theo Walcott. The former Arsenal player featured for the Saints as a 16-year-old before making his second Southampton debut as a 31-year-old.
The Englishman marked his return with a vital assist against Chelsea to cap off a busy performance with a telling contribution.
Besides Walcott, Frenchman Ibrahima Diallo also made his first Southampton appearance of the season after joining from Brest.
#3 Chelsea goalkeeper rotation continues
Despite making a bevvy of attacking signings, a lot of the focus has been directed towards Chelsea's defensive end of the pitch. Frank Lampard has already played Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero and summer signing Edouard Mendy in the early stages of the season.
After Mendy made his Premier League debut for Chelsea against Crystal Palace, he suffered an injury in the international break which gave Kepa another opportunity to stake his claim for Chelsea’s goalkeeping spot.
However, the Spaniard did not have an encouraging outing in goal against Southampton, conceding thrice and being involved in a defensive mix-up that resulted in the first goal for the visitors.
Although Kepa cannot be directly blamed for any of the goals Southampton scored, it appears that his presence in goal does not inspire much confidence in the defenders playing ahead of him.
#4 Danny Ings continues his excellent run of form against Chelsea
While Harry Kane has established himself as one of the premier strikers in world football with his exploits for Tottenham Hotspur and England, there are a couple of other English strikers who have also caught the eye with their performances at club level.
Southampton’s Danny Ings and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin have been rewarded with call-ups to the England side of late, with both scoring their first goals for the Three Lions in the recent international break.
The Saints frontman continued his good form in front of goal against Chelsea too as he bagged a vital goal for his side just before the half-time break with a confident finish that saw him round the keeper before rolling the ball into an empty net.
Ings, who is coming off a prolific 2019-20 season that saw him competing for the Golden Boot, has been in fine form in the new season as well. Southampton will be counting on his goals to power them to more positive results this season.
#5 Defensive issues are still disconcerting for Chelsea
Although Frank Lampard can take comfort from the fact that Werner and Havertz broke their Premier League ducks, the shaky showing from the members of his backline would be causing him some concern.
Against Southampton, the warning signs were on show during the visitors' first goal itself as Chelsea played themselves into trouble and turned over possession before Ings was played through on goal.
However, the worst was yet to come for Chelsea as the Southampton equaliser was the result of a calamitous error at the back for the Blues. Kurt Zouma made a hash of dealing with a pass upfield, leaving Kepa in an awkward position of challenging the goal-rushing Che Adams.
Adams powered through the Spaniard’s feeble challenge and squared the ball for Ings whose effort was blocked before Adams regained possession and slammed the ball high into an exposed net.
The Blues were very easy on the eye for most of the game, with Lampard’s vision for his side quite clear for all to see. However, if they are to challenge for top honours, Chelsea need to add some steel at the back and not allow their opponents to create chances at the rate that they are doing presently.
