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A stingy Southampton side stung Chelsea on their own patch courtesy goals from teenager Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond on either side of half-time to take the Saints outside the drop zone with back-to-back wins.
The Blues were stunned on Boxing Day - a date in the calendar when they've been relentless otherwise, and were clearly out of ideas. They've now lost five of their last seven games, notably against sides struggling amid a gruelling relegation scrap. They've gifted West Ham three points, as well as drop-threatened Bournemouth, Everton and now, Southampton.
Frank Lampard's young side perhaps, are unable to hide their loopholes, as a number of questions arise after the club lost consecutive home games. And that too, without finding the back of the net.
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On that note, we look at the three major talking points from the massive upset caused by Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
#1 Lampard sticks to the back three, but changes personnel
Lampard trusted the trio in defence that beat bitter rivals Tottenham in their own backyard, with Kurt Zouma, Antonio Rudiger and Fikayo Tomori constituting the defensive line. While Cesar Azpilicueta donned the captain's armband again, it was Emerson who came in for Marcos Alonso down the left.
With Mateo Kovacic serving a suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards, Jorginho and an advanced N'Golo Kante played in midfield. The fullbacks offered all the width and stretched Southampton's backline, meaning Willian would once again operate from an inverted, narrow position.
Christian Pulisic was once again named on the bench, while Mason Mount, who has played more minutes than any other Chelsea outfield player, paved way for the lively Callum Hudson-Odoi. Himself and last match's hero Willian interchanged positions and almost at times, played as a couple of number 10s in behind Tammy Abraham.
The forward, who headed into the game on the back of three blanks, led the line. Perhaps, he could have been rested or given a 20-minute cameo, with one eye on the Arsenal away game.
The Chelsea boss did revert to the 4-2-3-1 after a lacklustre first 45 minutes, but clearly, a back three shouldn't have been used against an under-confident team at the bottom.
#2 Saints' system chokes Chelsea as Obafemi stuns Stamford Bridge
Bournemouth and West Ham have buried Chelsea's improbable title hopes at the Bridge, implying and charting out a blueprint to the rest of the league. The Saints, much better away from home, came to West London with a similar approach but varied system.
Firstly, throughout the course of the game before they led, the front two, along with a couple of midfielders, made life harder for the Chelsea back three to pick their passes. They, meanwhile, played much better in the face of their opponents' press.
The back four remained extremely compact, alert to the aerials and didn't panic whenever Azpilicueta found space on the right. More so, the midfielders in the form of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Armstrong worked their socks off to shut spaces.
The message from Ralph Hasenhuttl was pretty clear - keep it tight, press up the pitch and hit an extremely high Chelsea on the counter.
And it worked wonders against a static Blues side who just couldn't find their range in the final third or pierce through.
The Saints skipper did extremely well to pick a pass on the inside of Tomori, who was in sixes and sevens when it was played in. Zouma therefore, was in no man's land and completely confused, before young Obafemi produced a finish from the top drawer to put his side ahead.
#3 Southampton's wonderful teamwork stings Chelsea on the break
Not once not twice, but as many as six times the Saints broke free while Chelsea were trying to commit more bodies forward in search of a leveller. Not a lot was going right for them apart from a few half-baked interplays inside the box.
Mason Mount's arrival at halftime certainly infused a bit of spark, but a more collective, organised effort was needed from the hosts. They were extremely flat-footed, and were more often than not, playing their football in front of a contended Southampton foil.
The Saints on the other hand, sat back and deployed every single player behind the ball.
It was a 45-minute spell that consisted of the most alert, brave and no-nonsense defending. Every time the ball was played in through, the likes of Stevens and Jan Bednarek, who has featured in every single game for Hasenhuttl in his time at St. Mary's, were there to get in front of the blue shirts and swat the danger away.
They eventually, grew into their defensive side as the entire bunch began to close down wingers, shut the channels and restrict Mount and Pulisic. Kante as well, had a game to forget. One may argue, for the umpteenth time, that he is far better when helping the back line, picking up the pieces and nicking the ball off opponents.
Most of the credit there goes to James Ward-Prowse for shifting away from his attacking instincts and shielding the defence with timely interceptions and endless coverage.
Southampton could hardly care though, as they reserved their energies to hit Chelsea on the break with pace, and Redmond, who initiated most of the counters, was on the end of a sensational team breakaway to poke home the second.
