Stuttering Chelsea Suffer Back-To-Back Away Losses
31 August, 2022
Chelsea's stuttering form in the Premier League continued after they suffered a 2-1 loss to Southampton on Tuesday evening.
Premier League
Result: Southampton 2-1 Chelsea
Date: 30 August 2022
Venue: St Mary's Stadium
Hakim Ziyech was brought into the side in place of the suspended Conor Callagher, while coach Thomas Tuchel was back on the touchline after serving his suspension over the weekend.
The Blues had the first real opening on 14 minutes as Mason Mount and Jorginho combined well to set up Raheem Sterling who skipped past one challenge before seeing his shot saved by Gavin Bazunu. Sterling got his reward 10 minutes later when Southampton's failure to deal with Mount's ball into the box allowed the England international to slot past Bazunu from six-yards out.
Chelsea' lead only lasted five as the home side drew level courtesy of Romeo Lavia's sublime strike from the edge of the box that left Édouard Mendy with no chance.
The Saints were in the ascendancy and managed to grab the second goal on the stroke of halftime as a neat passing move ended with Adam Armstrong rifling the ball past Mendy.
Tuchel responded with a change at the start of the second half as Mateo Kovavic replaced Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but the Blues nearly conceded a third minutes later as Marc Cucurella was on hand to block Mohamed Elyounoussi's header.
Kai Havertz should have restored parity for the Blues just after the hour mark after getting on the end of Cesar Azpilicueta's cross, but the German attacker sent his header over the crossbar.
With time running out, Thiago Silva kept Chelsea in the game as the veteran defender produced an impressive clearance off the line to keep out Mohammed Salisu's header.
The Blues threw bodies forward in search of an equaliser, but the Saints defended well and were able to thwart every attack as they held on for their second win of the season.
Other results:
Crystal Palace 1-1 Brentford
Fulham 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
Leeds United 1-1 Everton
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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