Southampton 0-6 Chelsea player ratings: Mount, Werner score braces
By Joseph Joe
Chelsea’s away form doesn’t seem to be trending in a downward direction—as its home form is right now—following a 6-0 drubbing of Southampton. The Blues were winless in their previous two matches, losing against Brentford and Real Madrid at home, but their win against Saints on Saturday shows that while they may be down, they certainly aren’t out. Marcos Alonso opened the scoring at St. Mary’s with a fine strike inside the box as the visitors got off to a fast start. Mason Mount and Timo Werner added braces and Kai Havertz also got onto the scoresheet on the day.
Chelsea thumped the south coast squad for a third time this season in all competitions. The result will surely help boost the Blues’ confidence levels ahead of the all-important second leg against Real Madrid on Tuesday. It will also boost their hopes of finishing in the top four this season.
Here are the player ratings from Chelsea’s victory over Southampton:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 7/10
Edouard Mendy was a surprise starter for the Blues ahead of Kepa Arrizabalaga of the back of his recent blunders. The Senegalese international didn’t really have much to do in the opening period and that stayed the same in the second period too. Except for the one time he had to make a fine save to keep Che Adams out and ensure a clean sheet for Chelsea.
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Andreas Christensen (Right centerback): 7/10
Andreas Christensen played on the right of the back three once again at Southampton. The Dane found himself strolling more often than not as Saints offered little threat going forward. He slotted into the middle of the defence when Thiago Silva was taken off, displaying his versatility. He played with composure and ensured the Blues kept their second clean sheet in five matches.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 7/10
Thiago Silva started this match, even though many fans were against the idea with an important Champions League match early next week. This truly wasn’t expected given that he has played almost every minute for Chelsea this season. However, he’s simply too important to this side. The fact that he’s 37 years old and still playing this well is unbelievable. The Brazilian comfortably took care of business throughout the contest and he really did not have much to do. Silva was taken off in the 63′ for Reece James, probably to keep him fresh for the Blues’ away tie on Tuesday.
Antonio Rudiger (Left centerback): 8/10
Just like his fellow defensive partners, the German didn’t really have much to do during the game, but he made sure his side left the south coast with a clean sheet. Antonio Rudiger got involved whenever the Blues were in possession as he took his usual trademark shot. Unfortunately this time, it went well wide of Fraser Forster’s goal.
Reece James (Right centerback): 7/10
James played on the right of the back three for the final half hour of the match. He was not troubled for the entirety of his time on the pitch.