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Chelsea logo
Premier League | Gameweek 19
Dec 26, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
Southampton logo

0-2

FT(HT: 0-1)
Obafemi (31'), Redmond (73')

Southampton stun Chelsea as Blues lose at home again

Southampton stun Chelsea as Blues lose at home again
© Reuters
The Blues lost consecutive home league games for the first time since 2011.

Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond struck to deepen Chelsea's Stamford Bridge woes as Southampton claimed a fine Premier League win in west London.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's Saints battled their way to a fourth league victory in six matches, and their second win on the spin away from home.

The wretched home form of Frank Lampard's men took another turn for the worse, with the Blues sinking to a sixth loss in 15 Stamford Bridge matches in all competitions this term.

Chelsea also suffered consecutive home Premier League defeats for the first time since 2011, when the Stamford Bridge men endured successive losses to Arsenal and Liverpool.

Lampard's Blues remained fourth in the table despite their defeat, with Sunday's 2-0 win at Tottenham keeping their north London rivals down in fifth.

Obafemi and Redmond took their goals well but two smart finishes would in no way mask Chelsea's shortcomings on home soil.

Lampard had challenged his players to show more "balls" in the wake of their 1-0 home loss to Bournemouth on December 14, and the riposte from his squad was that fine derby victory at Spurs.

The Blues' home struggles continued unabated here however, with Lampard initially sticking to the 3-4-3 formation that so flummoxed Tottenham – but eventually abandoning that at half-time.

Nathan Redmond (left) sealed the win
Nathan Redmond (left) sealed the win (Adam Davy/PA)

Southampton in contrast were left to toast a another win to cement an impressive return to form for Hasenhuttl's relegation scrappers.

Ryan Bertrand's booking for time wasting less than half an hour into the contest underscored Saints' entire strategy to scrap for the the ball.

Obafemi was put through on goal by his captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and seized on the space afforded by the tentative Fikayo Tomori to curl a smart finish past a helpless Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Callum Hudson-Odoi lost the ball cheaply to allow Hojbjerg the time to thread Obafemi into space.

And just when Chelsea would have expected to start squeezing the contest in their favour, the hosts lost any grip on proceedings instead.

Lampard ditched the 3-4-3 formation at half-time, determined to jolt his sluggish Blues back into attacking life.

Kurt Zouma was sacrificed in the switch to 4-2-3-1, with Mason Mount thrown into battle and challenged to deliver the missing creative spark.

Mount had impressed in an astute and assured performance in Sunday's 2-0 win at Spurs, and was straight into the action again on Boxing Day.

No sooner had the half started than Mount slid a smart ball through for Tammy Abraham, who spun into the inside right channel and left his markers for dead.

The England hitman lashed goalwards, only to see the ball flash past the wrong side of the post.

Saints continued to threaten on the break however, with Redmond tormenting Antonio Rudiger before Tomori produced a desperate sliding clearance to thwart the lurking Che Adams.

Redmond should have doubled Saints' lead when played clean through, but the former Norwich and Birmingham man could only poke tamely at Kepa's legs.

The disappointing Hudson-Odoi was hooked in favour of Christian Pulisic for the last quarter, with Lampard acutely aware of Chelsea's poor home form.

Redmond did eventually prod home, when N'Golo Kante unwittingly sent the perfect ball into his path. The pacy forward diverted that loose pass beyond a stranded Kepa, and in doing so sealed a win to warm Saints hearts and put a chill into Chelsea chests.

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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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