Chelsea 0-2 Southampton: 3 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis | Premier League 2019-20 

#2 Saints' system chokes Chelsea as Obafemi stuns Stamford Bridge

Michael Obafemi took his rare chance extremely well to put Southampton ahead

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.

19y 173d - Aged 19 years and 173 days, Michael Obafemi is the youngest player to score a Premier League goal away at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea since James Vaughan for Everton in May 2007 (18y 303d). Silenced. #CHESOU pic.twitter.com/VDURXua67o

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2019

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.

Chelsea FC v Southampton FC - Premier League