Chelsea vs Southampton three lessons learnt: Another shootout win
By Anthony Gatt
3: The attack was very poor
Havertz remained in the starting line-up from the weekend, but this time was playing alongside Barkley and Ziyech up top, as opposed to Hudson-Odoi and Mount. Throughout the first half, the partnership didn’t exactly gel well until the goal went in just before halftime. Ziyech sent in the cross from a corner and Havertz headed it in, which many hoped would have opened the flood gates.
Sadly, once again, viewers only get those little moments from Ziyech that cannot be sustained throughout the entire game. He looked like a passenger who rarely gets the ball and doesn’t looked bothered to go chase after it. Barkley looked more lively but made bad decision after bad decision. These ended a few goal scoring opportunities because he was either too slow or made the wrong pass. Barkley, and more importantly, Ziyech, were just too slow. They won’t be making themselves regulars in the starting line-up with performances like the ones put in on Tuesday, especially when Christian Pulisic, Lukaku and Werner return.
Havertz, on the other hand, played well. It was nothing spectacular, but the German got his goal and showed some real quality getting into the right areas and forcing Forster to make some saves. The shot with his weak foot that almost curled in showed off his what he is capable of when feeling confident. However, the good also was accompanied with some bad as Havertz always tries to do too much when he comes deep. He often overplays with the ball and lacks the quality to finish his chances that are right in front of goal. Nevertheless, these are just growing pains that fans must deal with as there aren’t any better alternatives at the No. 9 spot while Lukaku and Werner are out.
Havertz can play up top effectively when he is alongside the likes of Hudson-Odoi and Mount. Chelsea has been in free scoring form for the last two games, so when they have a game where they struggle to score, it may come as a surprise. Credit to Southampton though, who played really well on Tuesday night. It’s also worth recognizing the fact that the Blues scored 11 goals against two poor sides in Malmo and Norwich, so not everything is fixed.
Next. A rotated Chelsea looks like a rotated team as Blues advance in EFL Cup. dark
What lessons did you learn from this game? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!