N’Golo Kante, Midfielder: 8
We’ve encountered this problem several times in the last three years: there’s only so much you can say about the everything N’Golo Kante does well. Apparently Southampton don’t have this blissful fatigue for his superlative play. Southampton did not show Kante enough respect as a shooter (not that he would ever think of it in such a way). Rather than close him down as they would any more traditional long-range threat, they stood off him when he lined up his shot from 20 yards. That yard grazed over a Saints player’s back and into Angus Gunn’s net.
One defensive note that will segue us to the next midfielder: N’Golo Kante gave up a late free kick in a dangerous position, one that could have brought Southampton back within a goal given the Blues’ set piece vulnerabilities.
Why did he do such a thing? Because his deep midfield partner, Jorginho, spectated as Nathan Redmond dribbled into a shooting position. Kante caught up to Redmond at the end of a 20-yard dead sprint and went shoulder-to-shoulder with him, sending the much larger man to the ground but drawing the whistle. If only Jorginho had broken up the play, Kante would not have been driven to such lengths.
Jorginho, Midfielder: 7.5
Brace yourself: Jorginho had a quite solid game.
At the end of the first half he threw himself in front of a shot, blocking it in mid-air near the six-yard line to preserve Chelsea’s two goal lead. With the exception of the incident above, his defensive positioning was smart and he involved himself well on both sides of the ball. He still made poorly designed or poorly executed passes from time to time, but overall he kept the ball moving in the right direction to the right people at the right times.
Jorginho also received his obligatory yellow, which leaves him just one more booking away from a suspension.
Mason Mount, Midfielder: 7.5
Mount knows that pressing is not an end in itself, but is a means of forcing a turnover, which in turn is a means of creating a new scoring opportunity.
This mentality and how it infuses his approach to the press keeps him always moving towards the goal. He corrals the opponents towards his pressing teammates – up to five Blues in total, at times. When the ball comes loose, because he is already – still! – moving forward, he can quickly push the defensive line back and facilitate a chance on goal.