Southampton 1-4 Chelsea: 3 players who impressed and 2 who were poor

Chelsea registered two wins in a row by beating the Saints convincingly in a 4-1 away win. It leaves Southampton still looking for their first home win of the season as they go into some tricky upcoming fixtures.

The Blues actually had to cope with some early pressure from Ralph Hasenhuttl's men and nearly paid the price, but Tammy Abraham's cheeky 17th-minute goal turned the tide and Chelsea began to dictate the play. It wouldn't be long before Mason Mount got on the scoresheet for the fourth time in the league at the end of a superb passing move for Chelsea and double their lead.

When Southampton clawed one back less than 10 minutes later, Chelsea fans would've held their breath given their tendency to give away leads under Frank Lampard, but N'Golo Kante allayed some of those fears when his deflected shot just before half-time gave Chelsea their cushion back.

A more conservative Chelsea appeared in the second half and denied Southampton space and time to operate while creating little themselves. It would only be at the end of the game that substitutes Christian Pulisic and Michy Batshuayi would combine to put Chelsea's fourth on the board.

Plenty of impressive performances around the park, but we start with the obvious:

Impressive: N'Golo Kante

Kante showed a different side of his game against Southampton

Almost every time he steps on the pitch, the French midfielder has a good game. This one was special in a different light. Kante did all things you usually expect him to do, chasing the ball, nicking it off the feet of the opposition, and providing his backline with much-needed support.

Yet he also showed a drop of the shoulder in midfield and was able to take on players and find a pass or run beyond them. He made himself available to receive the ball and turn on multiple occasions and successfully turned a defensive situation into a positive attacking phase for Chelsea.

His deflected goal was just a cherry on top of this absolutely delicious performance.

Poor: Fikayo Tomori

Probably Tomori's poorest outing in a Chelsea shirt so far

The centre-back who has been called up to the English national team on the back of his recent performances was less than perfect against Southampton. Fikayo Tomori has characterised his play so far with being able to defend solidly but also provide an outlet from the back and play the pass into midfield or a long diagonal to find attackers.

He got plenty of the passing wrong against the Saints. On more than one occasion, he gifted the opposition the ball in the final third and was rescued on one occasion by Kurt Zouma and the other by Jorginho.

It may be an isolated poor performance that we're seeing from a young defender who has been solid for Chelsea so far. Nonetheless, he will watch that footage plenty of times and wonder what he was doing in those situations. With Chelsea already leaky at the back, they can't afford for Tomori to falter.

Impressive: Jan Valery

Valery showed plenty of promise in a bleak performance

There was a moment as the game came to a close when Jan Valery won back possession from Christian Pulisic high up the pitch. He pushed forward and was mobbed by Batshuayi, Pulisic, and Marcos Alonso, yet he managed to squeeze the ball away and play it forward. It sort of typified his game.

The young full-back was constantly fighting a battle down the right flank, both defensively and offensively. He kept his cool for the most part in defence and was beaten by sheer numbers as he received no support. Going forward, he carried the ball up the pitch repeatedly and tried to find his forwards in the middle.

He found Danny Ings for Southampton's only goal of the game, but even apart from that assist, he was one of the reasons Chelsea came out slightly more conservative in the second half.

Poor: Oriol Romeu

Not the worst outing for Romeu but he failed to fulfil the core fo his job description

This is perhaps slightly harsh because Oriol Romeu was practically mobbed by the moving parts of Chelsea's attack on plenty of occasions and came up short against them. Nonetheless, three of the four goals scored by the blues came from areas that he should have covered and allowed for shots and passes to be executed around him.

At his best, Romeu is an absolute unit in front of the defence and keeps out most long-distance shots or intervenes at the right time to disrupt quick exchanges. Against Chelsea, he did alright to stop some quick attacks but had he been in a better position, the Saints may have prevented at least two of the four goals and given themselves much more of a chance.

It's not the worst game he could've had, but being charged with the protection of this backline and leaving them exposed for the best part of 90 minutes is inexcusable.

Impressive: Willian

The Brazilian was a big driving force for Chelsea in attack

He was not on the scoresheet, but the Brazilian was imperious in attack for Frank Lampard's Chelsea; maybe the best player on the pitch for the Blues. He got an assist when he played in Mason Mount for Chelsea's second goal which is probably the only thing that sticks out looking at the statistics form the game.

But the winger offered so much more during the game, taking on players and leaving them in his wake, releasing Abraham, Mount, and Callum Hudson-Odoi beyond him, and coming deep to receive the ball. He provided a spark for Chelsea in attack and if he continues to do so consistently, then this Chelsea attack could add a new dimension to their already dangerous attack this season.

In previous games, Willian has been quick and keen to shoot, but against the Saints his play was much more measured and provided Chelsea with a genuine alternative to progress the ball through the centre and down the wings.