Regular football has returned as the first lot of midweek Premier League fixtures started on Tuesday, and a shock result came along with it. After a hard-fought win against Leicester City at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea went on to face Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium. In the first half, the home side looked very open at the back and the visitors should have scored a couple of goals. If only players like Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz could finish their chances. Not long after, Sterling did give the Blues the lead in the 23′.
Unfortunately, it did not take long for the home side to equalize as Romeo Lavia shot home from just outside the box in the 28′. Following the equalizer, the visitors looked like the second-best team on the pitch. Just before the end of the first half, Adam Armstrong scored from close range to give Saints the lead thanks to some questionable defending from the away side.
In the second half, Chelsea came out guns blazing, but that meant at the back, the visitors were vulnerable. Southampton came close quite a few times and could have scored twice if it was not for Marc Cucurella and Thiago Silva’s goal line clearances early on. After an hour, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel changed the shape of the team and made multiple substitutions, but the lack of creativity in the midfield and absence of Reece James was more than evident as the game went on. The Blues could barely create any more chances and went on to lose the game.
Here’s how each Chelsea player fared in another disappointing outing in the Premier League:
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 5/10
The Senegalese international had to comfortably collect the ball quite a lot of times, but for the first goal, seeing as Edouard Mendy did get a hand on Lavia’s effort, he should have done better. The fact of the matter is the Blues’ No. 1 should have stopped it. The performance level of Mendy seems to be dropping a lot in recent weeks.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Right back): 6/10
After a fiery battle at Stamford Bridge against the Foxes, Cesar Azpilicueta was recalled to the starting line-up after an unexpected injury to Trevoh Chalobah and James falling sick. The Spaniard starting as a fullback and he was non-existent in the attacking play. Defensively, the club captain was solid, despite the team conceding two goals in the first half. The lack of pace did put the Spaniard in trouble in the the Blues’ aging back line.
Thiago Silva (Centerback): 8/10
Everyone thought that the veteran would be rested for this clash, but a minor injury to the likes of Chalobah and James’ illness resulted in Thiago Silva having to start the game. Just like always, the veteran was solid and he defended very well. Even though the team conceded two goals, if not for the Brazilian, Chelsea could have conceded one or two more in the match. In the second half, when the team started to push up the field, Silva even took it upon himself to carry the ball up the pitch on numerous occasions as the attackers struggled.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Centerback): 7/10
Kalidou Koulibaly was restored to the starting line-up after he served his one-match ban against Leicester City, sustained during the horrendous performance against Leeds United. Comparatively, the performance of the Senegalese international on Tuesday was better than his outing at Elland Road. He looked more secure and calm on the ball overall, and when one-on-one with Saints attackers, Koulibaly looked good too.
Marc Cucurella (Left back): 7.5/10
The Spaniard has looked solid since signing for the Blues, despite the team continuously putting on very disappointing performances. In the first half, Marc Cucurella was afforded a lot of space on the left flank and took full advantage of it while attacking. Throughout the game, the fullback was unafraid to run up and down the flank, and he never backed down during any physical battle with the Southampton front line. The whole game was summed up by the goal line clearance the Spaniard produced early in the second half to keep the score line at 2-1 to the home side.
Jorginho (Central midfielder): 4/10
It seems as if every team has now understood how to eliminate the Italian midfielder from the game. It now seems to be a continuous story of Jorginho becoming a target of the opponents in midfield. Closing him down and pressing him ferociously, getting him under pressure and dispossessing him in dangerous positions seems to be doing the trick. The Italian midfielder was way too sloppy with his passing and showed no energy in the midfield, getting overrun way too easily while conceding the second goal. No way deserves a new contract.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Central midfielder): 6.5/10
Probably one of the better midfielders on the pitch on Tuesday was Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The English midfielder was a bit sloppy with his passes, but he kept up with the high tempo of the game. His physicality was very beneficial, but at halftime, Loftus-Cheek was replaced due to a knock he sustained during the first 45 minutes. Another midfielder is down and this is now another headache for the German manager to deal with in the coming matches.
Mason Mount (Attacking midfielder): 5/10
The England international has had a very subpar start to the season thus far. After five matches, Mason Mount has not yet had a game where he has looked comfortable or involved enough to influence the game much—aside from maybe the match against Tottenham. The same happened on Tuesday. Mount showed glimpses of promise in the first half when the Southampton defense was all over the place. Yes, Mount did “assist” Sterling’s goal, but after that instance, the English wonderkid struggled to be influential in the attack when the team was behind.
Hakim Ziyech (Right winger): 6/10
The Moroccan winger got his chance in the starting line-up during the midweek match, surprisingly, even though Hakim Ziyech is looking to materialize a move away. However, Ziyech performed professionally on Tuesday, and his passing range was incredibly admirable. The veteran was playing all kinds of passing. Ziyech showed good glimpses of play in the first half, but as the game progressed, the Moroccan forward became worse and worse.
Raheem Sterling (Center forward): 7/10
Once again, Raheem Sterling scored for the Blues, taking his tally to three goals now. It has to be said though that there were multiple times when the England international should have done better in the final third when it comes to both playing the final pass and finishing his chances. However, by far, Sterling was the best attacking player for the Blues, even though he was barely involved in the second half when the team was looking for the equalizer. Nevertheless, the veteran has gotten off to an incredible start with his new club.
Kai Havertz (Left winger): 4/10
The inclusion of Kai Havertz in the starting line-up on Tuesday at St. Mary’s came as a surprise seeing as the German youngster has been average (at best) in the past four Premier League contests. It was much of the same from the wunderkind against Southampton, if not worse. It is becoming very common to see that the forward struggles when coming up with any physical side. That is exactly what happened against Saints. Havertz was caught offside multiple times and he played poorly when Chelsea was on the counterattack. Fans seemingly cannot begin to understand what Armando Broja needs to do to start a game anytime soon.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder): 6/10
Mateo Kovacic came on for the injured Loftus-Cheek at halftime, and playing the Croatian for the full half was dangerous, as he has just recovered from a knee injury he suffered in preseason. However, after the Croatian midfielder came on, he did quite well, despite looking a bit rusty. Kovacic played a plethora of excellent passes from the base of the midfield.
Armando Broja (Striker): 7/10
Armando Broja came on for Cesar Azpilicueta in the 67′, and from the get-go, the Albanian international looked miles better than Havertz as a center forward. The young striker brought some much-needed energy and physicality up front to the game—which Chelsea very much needed at that stage, trailing 2-1. Hopefully Broja gets some real chances to showcase his talent going forward after impressing in his brief cameo.
Christian Pulisic (Right wingback): 5/10
Christian Pulisic came on for Havertz in the 66′ and Captain America played as a right wingback when the formation was changed. Pulisic did bring in some much-needed energy into the gameplay, but his lack of physicality got the better of him as he got dominated by the opposition’s pressing back line. Obviously, the American playing in “an unfamiliar position” did no good to his performance either, which only hurt the Blues in the long run.
Ben Chilwell (Left wingback): 6/10
Ben Chilwell came on for Jorginho in the 67′ as the formation changed, and the English international started playing as a left wingback. He looked decent, secure enough while defending the ball, but very scarcely involved in the attacking half. It’s important for Chilwell to get these minutes—regardless of the result—as he gets back into the swing of things.
What ratings would you give to each of the players? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!