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Chelsea bounced back from their back-to-back defeats with a 3-1 win over Southampton. Trevoh Chalobah scored early in the game but the Blues needed late goals from Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell to seal the deal.
Thomas Tuchel made five changes to his team. Trevoh Chalobah, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Ben Chilwell all came into the starting XI. The changes worked well as Chelsea controlled the game from the start.
Speaking about the changes, Thomas Tuchel said:
"Yes because otherwise I wouldn't have done it. Ross had a very good situation in Juventus when he delivered the pass to Romelu (Lukaku) for our biggest chance of the game and Ruben had a good match in the cup. Most important is that I feel Ruben and Ross at the moment feel no pressure.
"They are happy to have these chances, to feel the support, and perhaps six weeks ago they couldn't have imagined they were in the situation to get real minutes, important minutes. So they can help us because they have this kind of positive spirit and they didn't feel the pressure. In the last two games, of course, we lost and we felt something was lacking."
Apart from a James Ward-Prowse penalty, Chelsea did not give Southampton any clear-cut chance. The sending-off of the Saints star threw the game wide open and saw the home side grab all three points.
Here are Chelsea's top five players from the 3-1 win over Southampton:
#5 - Cesar Azpilicueta
Cesar Azpilicueta has been in exceptional form this season and he continued in the same vein today. He was credited with two assists today and both came in the final minutes of the game to help Chelsea win.
The Spaniard started as a right wing-back and ensured Chelsea did not miss the services of Reece James. Azpilicueta kept Nathan Tella on his toes every time he got the ball and ensured he did not link with Nathan Redmond.
Cesar Azpilicueta first slotted the ball into the six-yard box for Timo Werner to tap-in in the 84th minute and then had a shot come off the bar in the 89th.
However, the deflected shot resulted in an assist as Ben Chilwell scored on the opposite side of the post.
#4 - Trevoh Chalobah
Trevoh Chalobah was Chelsea's best defender today even if we didn't consider his goal. The youngster has done extremely well whenever he has been called up to the first team this season.
The Chelsea academy product made five exceptional tackles, had a 91% pass success, made three clearances and also dribbled past Southampton's press twice.
Thomas Tuchel has a tough decision to make now as Andreas Christensen is also doing well in the centre-back role.
#3 - Timo Werner
Timo Werner scored twice today for Chelsea, but one of them was ruled out. The German had the ball in the back of the net in both halves, but his first goal was chalked out because of a foul by Azpilicueta in the buildup.
Tuchel spoke about Werner's disallowed goal and said:
"I did not see it as a foul from Azpi. We had talks here before the season where everybody said we want to go back to 'English football' and not give fouls all the time for soft touches...I have zero understanding of why this goal was disallowed."
Nonetheless, Timo Werner managed to find the back of the net once again in the second half and give Chelsea a crucial lead. The three points helped them move above Liverpool for the time being in the league table.
#2 - Callum Hudson-Odoi
Callum Hudson-Odoi finally got to play in his favorite left-wing position and showed why he deserves to play there every week. The youngster was on top of his game and helped Thomas Tuchel's side dominate Southampton.
The Chelsea academy product was too hot to handle for Tino Livramento. Hudson-Odoi provided the assist for Timo Werner's ruled-out goal for a foul in the buildup by Cesar Azpilicueta.
Callum Hudson-Odoi was taken off in the 65th minute for Mason Mount, who returned from an injury.
#1 - Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was set to be loaned out this summer by Chelsea, but they couldn't find a good club for him. Thomas Tuchel would be happy to have him in the team right now as he has shown what he is capable of.
After a 'trial' in the Carabao Cup game against Aston Villa, Loftus-Cheek has made his way into Thomas Tuchel's plans. He looks set to challenge Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, and N'Golo Kante for a place in the starting XI. He ran the show from midfield and carried the ball forward a lot to start the Chelsea attack.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek made way for Ross Barkley in the 83rd minute after an exceptional performance in his first start for Chelsea in the Premier League in 384 days.
