4 games, 4 wins, 4 clean sheets and 11 goals - that's Chelsea's stats in the Premier League ever since Antonio Conte switched to the 3-4-3 formation. The humiliating defeat to Arsenal looks more like a blessing in disguise to The Blues now.
Here are the 5 talking points from the game at St Mary's today:
#1 - Conte has got his main XI
Who would have thought that Antonio Conte's best XI would involve David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Nemanja Matic, Victor Moses and Pedro? Absolutely no one!
David Luiz and Gary Cahill were horrendous at the back against Liverpool and Arsenal but ever since the change in the formation, they have been performing tremendously well! Both of them seem to be jelling so well and have settled in very well to the new system.
Matic is a player who many Chelsea fans wanted to be sold this summer and Moses is someone nobody ever wanted at the club. Pedro had a good start to his Chelsea career but never really shined later on last season. All three are proving ti be vital for the club this season!
#2 - Saints need to pull things together
New manager, new season, same old Southampton. The Saints are a team whose soul just doesn't seem to change one bit. Almost all their top players have been taken away from them by other Premier League clubs but still they continue to impress.
Fonte and Van Dijk are solid at the back and they could do absolutely nothing for both the goals they conceded. Ryan Bertrand is doing pretty well down the left flank but Martina has a lot to do. He needs to improve a lot and if that happens, they can become Premier League's most dangerous defence. Yoshida needs to be given a chance to prove his worth – he has proven how good he can be several times last season!
Same thing in the midfield. Romeu did very well to impress against his former club but the Spaniard did not have much support. He was 'lonely' most of the time as the others were caught out of position.
#3 - This is the time for Victor Moses
4 seasons after signing for Chelsea, Victor Moses is finally getting the chance he was waiting for! When Roberto Di Matteo signed the winger from Wigan, nobody understood why. He was loaned out to Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham in the last 3 seasons and he was nowhere close to impressing the Chelsea managers.
Something miraculous did happen in training as Conte saw a lot of potential in Moses and decided to keep him. Moses finally got the chance to start for Chelsea regularly and he's not letting Conte down. He has grabbed that right wingback position with both his hands and is doing anything possible to not let go of it.
Ivanovic is back from injury and was substituted in for Moses late in the second half and he played as a wingback. Ivanovic to start in the position instead of Moses next match? That's one thing Chelsea fans wouldn't want!
#4 - Claude Puel needs to rethink
When you have a goal scoring centre-forward in your tea, you have to play him in his best position. Claude Puel is playing Charlie Austin on the left wing instead with Nathan Redmond playing up front.
Redmond is very good as a centre-forward too but switching the position with Austin would do both the players wonders and also benefit the Saints a lot. Tadic is not able to pick out Redmond in the middle because of his height and that's one more thing that Austin can provide.
Ward-Prowse and Boufal should be starting more often for the Saints from now on with Clasie and maybe, Redmond making the way. Bringing in Boufal is the most important thing right now but fitting him would be the most difficult one.
#5 - Headache for Antonio Conte
Zouma, Terry and Ivanovic are back from their injuries while Oscar and Willian are back from their leaves. Cesc Fabregas is still out but it's not long before he makes a return and starts to fight for a starting XI place. But what will Conte do?
Conte tried to bring in John Terry into the team on Wednesday against West Ham United and it threw the defence wide open. Azpilicueta and David Luiz had to change their positions and both of them could not adjust to it. So with Zouma coming back, would Conte take a risk and rest one of David Luiz and Gary Cahill or will he just bench Zouma?
Matic and Kante are complimenting each other so well in the midfield right now and that's left Oscar and Fabregas scratching their heads. Both the players wouldn't be able to match the work rate of Matic and Kante and their chances of starting at slimmer than ever! Pero has made the right attacking midfielder's position his own and Willian now faces a tough task ahead of him! It's going to be very interesting to see what Conte does in the next few weeks - will he take a gamble and shuffle the team or will he stick with the same starting XI?
