PREMIER LEAGUE
Chelsea 0-1 Southampton, match summary, report, goals, highlights | Premier League 22/23
Potter’s Chelsea slump to a sorry defeat against bottom of the league Southampton.
The matches are ticking down and the days are bombing along, but Chelsea are still winless and time is running out for Graham Potter. A single victory in nine games in 2023 is too poor a return for a team whose aspirations are set firmly in the European positions: a goal that is looking ever more utopian if the Blues are incapable of even beating the bottom team in the Premier League.
A fabulous goal from James Ward-Prowse from a free kick (shock), who only has one left to match David Beckham’s record, was enough for Rubén Sellés’ Southampton to take the three points from Stamford Bridge. It is the fourth consecutive game for the Blues without a win and the first 3 points for Rubén Sellés. By the time the match day is done and dusted, the Champions League places could be more than 10 points away.
Premier League round-up:
The Ward-Prowse Special
The emotional minute of applause in memory of the former player Christian Atsu, who died in the earthquake in Turkey, preceded a first half marked by a very high pace. To the first two dangerous moments came from Southampton with Kepa Arrizabalaga being forced to intervene after an error from new centre-back Benoit Badiashile. Noni Madueke responded with a run and subsequent shot that crashed into the side of the net. The game was a crash course guide to the Premier League, typically back and forth. Then Southampton said enough is enough.
The Spaniard served as Southampton’s caretaker manager at Stamford Bridge in the knowledge that the bottom club in the Premier League had little chance against Chelsea, so the plan was straight-forward. Time-wasting became the buzzword of the first half and ended up significantly lowering the pace of the game to one which Southampton decided. Without the João Félix that we had all seen over the last few game for Chelsea, Graham Potter’s men had a hard time generating anything worthwhile in attack.
Then came James Ward-Prowse. Chelsea made the mistake of fouling just as the fourth official showed the stoppage time board. The visiting fans, immediately chanted his name, well aware of what was coming. A foul on the edge of the area is, for the Southampton captain, like a penalty, and he did not miss the opportunity. The number ‘8′ thundered the ball in the back of the Stamford Bridge net to score his 17th goal from a direct free kick and further aggravate Chelsea’s results crisis.
Entrusted to Sterling
Graham Potter tried to change the dynamic of the match by bringing on both Raheem Sterling and Wesley Fofana at half-time, and it was the English winger who lifted the home fans from their seats. After a cross Mason Mount failed to finish off with a shot from the edge of the box that ended in a corner kick, the Blues had wiggled their way back into contention. The equalising goal seemed closer, but they were no more than a mirage in the dry desert; just like the first 45, Chelsea’s huge lagoon of chances evaporated. The missed efforts, approaches to goal and sense of danger all plummeted as Rubén Sellés’s side felt more and more comfortable wrapped up and locked in their defensive shell.
Chances go missing for Chelsea
No matter how hard they tried, Chelsea could not get through. A Southampton defender cleared Raheem Sterling’s header off the line: the shot lacked centimetres to complete the comeback. Minutes after that, Kepa Arrizabalaga prevented Southampton going 0-2 up, and as Chelsea were growing once again, César Azpilicueta provided the fright of the match with an injury that saw him forced off.
Saints striker Sékou Mara kicked the head of the Spanish defender trying to get the ball and he fell down unconscious onto the ground. The game was stopped for more than 10 minutes while the medical services treated the Spanish international, who seemed to regain consciousness and left the pitch on a stretcher.
Premier League 2022/2023
| Classification | PTS | WM | TM | LM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9Brentford | 35 | 8 | 11 | 4 |
| 10Chelsea | 31 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| 11Aston Villa | 28 | 8 | 4 | 11 |
*Data updated to date Feb 18th, 2023
- 1 Arrizabalaga
- 4 Benoit Badiashile Mukinayi
- 28 Azpilicueta (83')
- 26 Koulibaly (45')
- 21 Ben Chilwell (83')
- 31 Nonso Madueke (63')
- 11 João Félix
- 5 Enzo Jeremias Fernandez
- 8 Kovacic
- 19 Mason Mount (63')
- 27 David Datro Fofana (45')
- Substitutes
- 29 Kai Havertz (63')
- 23 Conor Gallagher (83')
- 33 Wesley Fofana (45')
- 15 Mykhailo Mudryk (63')
- 67 Lewis Hall
- 17 Sterling (45')
- 13 Bettinelli
- 14 Trevoh Chalobah (83')
- 20 Zakaria
- 31 Gavin Bazunu
- 15 Romain Perraud
- 37 Armel Kotchap
- 3 Maitland-Niles (94')
- 35 Bednarek
- 17 Armstrong (58')
- 24 Mohammed Elyounoussi (86')
- 45 Romeo Lavia (86')
- 8 Ward-Prowse
- Kamal Deen Sulemana (58')
- Ebere Paul Onuachu (58')
- Substitutes
- 27 Ibrahima Diallo (86')
- 19 Moussa Djenepo
- 18 Sékou Mara (58')
- 13 Caballero
- 32 Walcott (58')
- 26 Carlos Alcaraz (86')
- 9 Armstrong (58')
- 2 Kyle Walker-Peters
- 4 Lyanco (94')
Substitutions
Wesley Fofana (45', Kalidou Koulibaly), Raheem Sterling (45', David Datro Fofana), Sékou Mara (58', Paul Onuachu), Theo Walcott (58', Stuart Armstrong), Adam Armstrong (58', Kamaldeen Sulemana), Kai Havertz (63', Mason Mount), Mykhailo Mudryk (63', Noni Madueke), Trevoh Chalobah (83', César Azpilicueta), Conor Gallagher (83', Ben Chilwell), Ibrahima Diallo (86', Roméo Lavia), Carlos Alcaraz (86', Mohamed Elyounoussi), Lyanco (94', Ainsley Maitland-Niles)
Goals
0-1, 45': Ward-Prowse
Cards
Referee: David Coote
VAR Referee: Robert Jones, Nick Greenhalgh
Koulibaly (3',Yellow) Armel Kotchap (15',Yellow) Armstrong (49',Yellow) Sékou Mara (74',Yellow) Romeo Lavia (86',Yellow) Arrizabalaga (86',Yellow) Ward-Prowse (96',Yellow) Kovacic (96',Yellow) Romain Perraud (97',Yellow)
