Southampton head into the half-time break leading Chelsea 2-1 at St Mary's.
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The hosts put plenty of pressure on Rafael Benitez's men early on, with Jay Rodriguez and Jason Puncheon both going close in the opening 10 minutes.
Only desperate blocks prevented Nathaniel Clyne and Rickie Lambert from testing Petr Cech in goal, but the breakthrough eventually came through Rodriguez.
The 23-year-old notched his seventh goal of the season after exchanging passes with Steven Davies and finishing coolly.
For all their early dominance in attack, it was poor defending from a corner that allowed John Terry to head unmarked past Artur Boruc.
However, the Saints were back ahead just two minutes later as Lambert sent a 25-yard free kick past Cech.
