Chelsea battle to win over Southampton
Chelsea continued their good start to the season, and took to top spot in the Premier League, with a late 3-1 win over Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
A James Ward-Prowse penalty cancelled out Trevoh Chalobah’s early strike, before the Saints man was sent off late in the second half.
Despite the man advantage, Chelsea failed to make their chances pay until late in the piece, when a goal from Timo Werner restored their lead before Ben Chilwell added gloss to the scoreline with a late strike.
Grealish singles out Ross Barkley for praise
In terms of substitutions to change games, it appears as though Thomas Tuchel has the golden touch in the opening stint of this season.
Bringing on N’Golo Kante in what proved a match-winning move a fortnight ago against Tottenham, it was the lesser-spotted Ross Barkley whom the German called upon this time around.
Barkley proved match-changing too, despite the 7 minutes that was afforded to him. Joining the fray with the score at 1-1, the Englishman made an immediate impact in his first Premier League appearance of the season, setting Azpilicueta free with a gorgeous pass.
The Spaniard in turn found Timo Werner, who found the back of the net to restore Chelsea’s advantage against a resolute 10 man Southampton.
The third goal, added by Ben Chilwell, was largely the icing on the cake late in proceedings, but Barkley certainly played a vital role in securing all three points.
This was recognised by one time Aston Villa team-mate and now Manchester City star Jack Grealish, no stranger to a moment of magic himself.
Responding to Ross Barkley’s post-match social media post, Grealish replied:
“What a pass brother”.
Will this cameo afford Barkley further first-team opportunities for the Blues?
Read more:
How Timo Werner responded to his huge, disallowed goal tally since he joined Chelsea
Rudiger, Hudson-Odoi & more issue social media responses to Chelsea’s win over Southampton
This article was edited by
Josh Barker.
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Premier League table
# | Team | MP | D | P |
1 | Chelsea FC | 7 | 12 | 16 |
2 | Liverpool FC | 6 | 11 | 14 |
3 | Manchester United | 7 | 8 | 14 |
4 | Everton FC | 7 | 5 | 14 |
5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 | 3 | 14 |
6 | Manchester City | 6 | 11 | 13 |
7 | West Ham United | 6 | 5 | 11 |
8 | Aston Villa | 6 | 2 | 10 |
9 | Arsenal FC | 7 | -5 | 10 |
10 | Brentford FC | 6 | 3 | 9 |
11 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 7 | -1 | 9 |
12 | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | -5 | 9 |
13 | Leicester City | 6 | -3 | 7 |
14 | Watford FC | 7 | -3 | 7 |
15 | Crystal Palace | 6 | -3 | 6 |
16 | Leeds United | 7 | -7 | 6 |
17 | Southampton FC | 7 | -5 | 4 |
18 | Burnley FC | 7 | -6 | 3 |
19 | Newcastle United | 7 | -8 | 3 |
20 | Norwich City | 7 | -14 | 1 |
Player | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 6 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 6 |
Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 5 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 4 |
Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 3 |
Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 |
Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 3 |
Hwang, Hee-chan | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 3 |
Raphinha | Leeds United | 3 |
Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 2 |
Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 2 |
Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
---|---|---|---|
Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 4 |
Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 |
Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 3 |
Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 3 |
Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
Veltman, Joel | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 3 |
Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
Djenepo, Moussa | Southampton FC | 0 | 3 |
Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 1 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 2 |
Raphinha | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
Alonso, Marcos | Chelsea FC | 0 | 2 |
Ward Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 1 | 1 |
Player | Team | Assists |
---|---|---|
Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 4 |
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 3 |
Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 |
Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
Azpilicueta, Cesar | Chelsea FC | 2 |
Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 2 |