Chelsea’s many connections in the ranks of Southampton

Chelsea has its sights set on Southampton as the Premier League breathes again following the international break, a fixture forged with curious connections.

Domestic football will soon be out of the shadow of its international cousin with the Premier League welcoming back its children after a half-term holiday away with their nationals. Chelsea’s attention swiftly turns to hosting Southampton at Stamford Bridge, Frank Lampard looking to build upon the confidence-booster against Crystal Palace earlier this month. Ralph Hasenhuttl has a positive result in his pocket pre-club intermission, beating newly promoted West Bromwich Albion, 2-0.

Both the Blues and the Saints have started the season inconsistently, this not the only trait they have distributed between each other over the centuries. In fact, they have shared the same field on 106 occasions, dating back to a 0-0 draw in 1923.

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This contest has thankfully become a lot livelier, the most recent a festive Boxing Day win in favour of the Saints. Chelsea’s spirits were certainly dampened as this was the first time the Blues had lost consecutive home matches since 2011 and the first without scoring since 1998. Southampton’s second goalscorer, Michael Obafemi, became the youngest player to bag at the Bridge since James Vaughn in 2007 (Obafemi 19 years & 173 days; Vaughn 18 years & 303 days).

Admittedly, it was only the visitor’s third scalp over the Blues since the turn of the decade, the fifth this millennium. One of these rarities occurred in 2015, a 3-1 Saints victory, which signaled Chelsea’s worst league start for 36 years and led to the eventual farewell of Jose Mourinho.

The third conquest of the 2010s, 2-1 in 2013, celebrated Rickie Lambert’s 500th appearance in English football; befittingly, he curled in the winner with a delightful free kick. Milestones like Lambert’s have frequently reared their heads in this particular clash. Cesc Fabregas achieved his 500th top flight appearance in January 2019, not to be undermined by the debut and clean sheet of Saints keeper Angus Gunn.

Eden Hazard made it 69 goals in the top flight as Chelsea narrowly scraped past Southampton in 2018; only Lampard (147) and Didier Drogba (104) had a higher return than the brilliant Belgian, who departed for Real Madrid on a tally of 85.

Diego Costa reached 50 league strikes in 85 matches for the Blues during a 4-2 triumph in 2017, becoming the second-fastest player to do so behind Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink (84). Interestingly, both of the Saints scorers were former Blues themselves. Ryan Bertrand graduated from the Chelsea academy but spent the majority of his life on loan. He did hang around long enough in 2012 to start that fabled night in Munich, becoming the first in the Champions League era to make his competition debut in the final.

Oriel Romeu never truly got a sniff at Chelsea after joining from Barcelona, since becoming a bed-rock of Hasenhuttl’s plans alongside Bertrand, the pair situating themselves by the coast now for five years.

Kerry Dixon and Peter Osgood, meanwhile, left a legacy at Chelsea that was not entirely repeated after leaving west London. Both household names and stars during their respective eras, the duo perch comfortably within the Blues all-time record goalscorers: Osgood fifth with 150, Dixon third with 193. The latter struggled to rediscover his form upon joining Southampton in 1992, yet Osgood did guide the Saints to a shock FA Cup win over Manchester United in 1976.

Others who have crossed the bridge are Wayne Bridge—youth teamer at Southampton and Premier League winner with Chelsea—Graeme Le Saux, Jack Cork and Ken Monkou. The latter becoming the first black player to be named the Blues’ Player of the Year and savior of Southampton after scoring a last minute winner against Norwich that avoided the club relegation.

A couple have also gone over the trenches into management. Mark Hughes too snatched the Saints away from the jaws of the drop after taking charge in 2018. His halo was soon torn off, dismissed after nine months, and replaced by the current boss, Hasenhuttl. Hughes fared much better with Chelsea on the field, earning three items of silverware during the 90s, aiding to the Blues eventual revolution into a serious title outfit.

Dennis Wise began as an apprentice at Southampton, and notched well over 400 games for Chelsea, largely spent as the Blues’ fiery captain. A lesser-known chapter of his footballing biography is the brief stint as the Saints’ caretaker manager in 2005 along with Dave Bassett.

James Beattie had already fled the nest when Wise was wielding his tactical whiteboard, but not as quickly as the time it took him to score against Chelsea in 2004. Mourinho’s marvelous adventure was just beginning, and the Blues had won their opening three fixtures without conceding a goal. Beatie broke that barrier after just 13.5 seconds, then the seventh quickest in Premier League history. Unfortunately, he also scored an own goal as Chelsea went on to win 2-1.

What is your favorite Chelsea memory against Southampton? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!