Well, Chelsea needed that one! After a week of feeling downtrodden and as if the end of the season might become catastrophic, the Blues put together an absolute trouncing against Southampton. They wasted no time getting on the scoresheet as they scored three goals in the opening 21 minutes, four goals in the first half and six goals on the afternoon in total. Frankly, this performance was critically important with key fixtures ahead in the pursuit of Champions League glory, FA Cup and a top four Premier League finish. While it won’t assuage some of the feelings of angst regarding the team’s form against elite competition, it did provide some key takeaways that can help build confidence for the players and supporters alike.
Here are four lessons we learnt in Chelsea’s 6-0 drubbing of Southampton:
1. Despite recent failings, this squad isn’t giving anything up
There was a feeling that things were crumbling apart in SW6 heading into Saturday’s match. After back-to-back defeats where the Blues were outclassed in every facet of both matches, an unease started to creep in regarding the prospect of clinching a top four finish.
However, the squad showed a fire that had been seemingly non-existent recently from the opening whistle at St. Mary’s. Timo Werner nearly connected on two separate occasions within the first 10 minutes and Mason Mount beautifully flicked the ball to Marcos Alonso to open the onslaught during the same period. The squad wouldn’t be comfortable with its position, however. Chelsea went on to knock in a barrage of goals in the first half that left Southhampton’s players and supporters in a bewildered state.
It was a scintillating performance from a Blues squad that needed to display a high level of resiliency. Chelsea is a young team and with big matches ahead, this type of bounce-back is critical to building confidence—especially in the pursuit of another trophy. A top four finish seems to be almost locked up as a result of this performance.