Premier League 2018-19: 4 things we learned from Chelsea's win over Southampton

Chelsea took full advantage of the draw between Manchester City and Liverpool by beating Southampton 3-0 away. All three teams head into the international break with 20 points each with City edging out Chelsea to the top spot due to a superior goal difference.

However, Chelsea looked very much like contenders with their dominant display at the St.Mary's stadium. They were very much a cut above the Southampton side who did try their best to keep Chelsea at bay with a deep defensive line.

Chelsea mounted attack after attack and it paid off in the 30th minute when Barkley won the ball in the Southampton's half and found Hazard's run into the box.

The Belgian, who is in the best goalscoring form of his career finished with ease to take his tally to seven Premier League goals. Southampton threatened Chelsea on a few counters but Kepa kept them at bay with some quality saves.

Barkley doubled the lead after a free kick was acrobatically volleyed into the 6-yard box by Giroud for Barkley to tap in.

Morata finished off the scoring in injury time after a fleeting team move by Chelsea which involved Hazard make a trademark dribble into the box to release Morata.

Morata had missed a glorious opportunity earlier in the match but this time he finished calmly and the Chelsea supporters must have heaved a great sigh of relief.

---

#1 Sarriball is rolling

Sarri has done some impressive work with Chelsea

There was a sense of curiosity when Sarri took over the Chelsea managerial post, primarily because of the clash between the defensive DNA Chelsea developed over a decade and Sarri's possession-based football.

Sarri inherited a team that played under two defence-minded coaches in Mourinho and Conte for around five years. In under three months of Sarri's tutelage, Chelsea are dominating possession and territory in a way the Stamford Bridge faithful had never seen before.

Against Southampton away Chelsea had over 65% possession and 15 attempts. Sarri has done a commendable work in altering the skeletal philosophy of Chelsea in such a short span and leading their title challenge.

If one considers the time taken by Guardiola and Klopp to shape their respective sides into title contenders, it's not far fetched to say that the Italian has worked instant magic.

#2 Rüdiger is the new Chelsea cult hero

The athletic German is the defensive lynchpin of Sarri's Chelsea and he is not disappointing one bit

Chelsea fans have always appreciated the variety of roles football has to offer and players like Azpilicueta, Ramires and Ivanovic have enjoyed their share of major fanfare.

It won't be long before we add Rüdiger to the list of Chelsea cult heroes. The athletic German is the defensive lynchpin of Sarri's Chelsea and he is not disappointing one bit.

Rüdiger's no-nonsense defensive approach against Southampton and his sheer will to keep the ball away from the net at all costs have won a few Chelsea hearts.

The German was immense the entire game and repelled everything that came his way and a little bit more.

On one particular incident, he beat the Southampton attack to an aerial ball and then threw himself in front of the shot that followed. The fans certainly seem to enjoy the rugged centre-back's determination and fighting spirit.

He has been consistently performing for Chelsea at a top level this season. Rüdiger is also supremely fast for a center back as highlighted by his successful outings against Mohammed Salah and is well on his way into the West London folklore.

#3 Southampton's lost identity

The Saints will be looking to turn their season around quickly

Since Southampton's return to the Premier League in 2012, they have successfully managed to stay there.

The foundation of their moderately successful period was their ability to bring through quality players into the team and develop them before they are shipped off at good prices.

Sadio Mané, Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren, Victor Wanyama and Virgil Van Dijk make this list among others.

However, the Southampton talent conveyor belt has been functioning at a much lower efficiency over the past two seasons and the team has visibly suffered.

Southampton currently sits in 16th position with just five points after eight matches and may do well to look into the scouting reports and academy roster once again.

#4 The World's most expensive Goalkeeper

He went about his work without fuss and has been doing it well

A 24-year-old Spanish goalkeeper who played for a mid-table La Liga club was bought by Chelsea for a world record fee to replace the Real Madrid bound Courtois.

This news received the momentary press attention due to the bulky fee involved but was quickly drained of importance. Liverpool had already broken the transfer record for a goalkeeper by buying Alisson from Roma before Kepa signed for Chelsea.

Alisson has since been in the spotlight for his outrageous flick against Brighton and then again for the howler against Leicester. Courtois has also made his presence felt in the media with his comments about Chelsea's stadium, Hazards transfer and his ambitions.

Kepa, in the meanwhile, was slowly and silently starting his life at Chelsea. There were neither any outrageous skills on the show nor any costly errors.

He went about his work without fuss and has been doing it well. He always looked assured but never really got a chance to show his worth.

However, the last two Chelsea matches against Videoton in Europa league and Southampton in the premier league proved why Chelsea dished out such a major sum for him.

The comparatively short and silent Kepa kept two clean sheets in both the games and produced a string of quality saves.

He has somehow managed to escape the spotlight and pressure that his price tag was supposed to bring and has settled into his new team.

It has been a steady ascend for Kepa so far. Kepa's journey to the top is well moving up the gears.