Chelsea soundly defeated Southampton 2-0 on Sunday, carrying on their great Premier League form. Here are some telling stats from the game.
Chelsea have ended the month of October with four consecutive wins, three of which have been secured against teams that finished finished higher last season. Eleven goals have been scored and none conceded.
On that note, here are some key stats and talking points from the Blues’ victory against Southampton at St. Mary’s.
Diego Costa wasn’t really at his marauding best, even though he managed 4 shots on goal. His long range curler against Southampton was his 8th Premier League goal of the season, but only his 2nd from outside the box since he moved to Chelsea in 2014 (his first came in the first game of the season against West Ham).
His goal scoring run is further made remarkable by its consistency; his 8 goals have been scored in 7 of the 10 games he has played and none have come from the spot. There is little doubt that he is one of the best goal-scorers in Europe right now.
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With every spectacular performance, Victor Moses is making Jose Mourinho’s decision to send him out on 3 consecutive loan spells even more baffling. He was the club’s best all-round performer on Sunday.
Offensively, he played 3 shots and made 2 key passes (both 2nd highest of all Blues players), one from which he set-up Eden Hazard’s (and Chelsea’s first) goal. He also completed 4 dribbles (no other teammate made more). He did all this without shrieking his defensive duties, making 3 tackles and clearances each as well as 1 interception. He is comfortably becoming the face of Antonio Conte’s side!
While Eden Hazard’s quality has never been in question, there have been doubts about his ability to make the leap into becoming an elite player in the class of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, largely due to his selfless nature.
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Well he is becoming more selfish now! He is averaging more shots per game this season and hit 3 on Sunday, scoring once, his 5th goal of the season, which ensured that he has now scored in 3 consecutive league games for the first time since joining Chelsea in 2012. He also created a game high 5 chances, registering an assist for Costa’s goal.
Chelsea’s loss to West Ham in the midweek EFL cup clash served to highlight some weaknesses in the side, one of which is the fact that Cesar Azpilicueta, despite his obvious adaptability, is not a very capable wing-back. But like Moses, he has clearly taken to his new centre-back role in a back 3 like a duck to water.
He was by far the best of the 3 centre-backs, registering a game high 17 defensive actions (9 tackles, 1 interception and 7 clearances). He was also tidy in possession, completing 89% of his 38 passes – the 2nd most accurate passes by a Blues player behind N’Golo Kante.
To highlight how impressive Sunday’s victory was, Chelsea were the last (and only) team to defeat Southampton at St. Mary’s in the Premier League in 2016. The Saints had gone 9 months without losing at home prior to Sunday’s game.
Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system is gradually bringing out the best of Chelsea, both defensively and offensively. With 4 wins out of 4 games, 11 goals scored and none conceded in October, there is little doubt whatsoever who the manager of the month should be!