Chelsea vs Southampton a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
April 26, 2017
1,668 Views
- It is once again advantage Chelsea as they are now 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League
- With Tottenham playing this evening the pressure is very much on Mauricio Pochettino’s men
- Chelsea who would have already had their tails up after beating Tottenham on Saturday will now await the outcome of Crystal Palace vs Tottenham in a few hours time
- Defeat for Tottenham and although not still mathematically impossible you would have to wonder where they will be able to make up the ground, especially when you look at their end of season run in
- As for Chelsea they got off to the perfect start last night as they were ahead within five minutes thanks to Eden Hazard
- He was afforded enough space to fire the ball low past Fraser Forster, the nerves were settled and it looked like it was going to be a relatively comfortable night for Antonio Conte’s men
- It was a trademark goal from Hazard, as he lurked on the edge of the area waiting for the cut back
- A simple looking goal but one that is hard to execute, Southampton though perhaps should have done better in not giving the Belgian international so much time and space
- But if Chelsea thought they would be costing, then Claude Puel’s men would have other ideas
- It was a Chelsea old boy who silenced Stamford Bridge twenty minutes later
- Oriol Romeu was on hand to prod home from close distance after Manolo Gabbiadini squared the ball across the box
- It seemed as if the title race was going to take another twist
- But for all the excitement that Tottenham fans watching at home may have had their hopes of closing the gap further still on Wednesday were extinguished just before half time
- Gary Cahill who missed out on appearing at Wembley on Saturday due to a Stomach Virus was the saviour for The Blues
- Cahill chucked himself at the ball as if he was clearing it but this time it was at the attacking end of the pitch
- His header rifled into the top corner of the net and Chelsea would go into the break with a one goal advantage
- Southampton found their way into the game once already, could they do so again
- The answer to that was no, good news for Chelsea fans but bad news for their Tottenham counterparts
- Diego Costa who was limited to a substitute role at Wembley on Saturday, was played from the start last night and he paid Antonio Conte’s faith in him with interest.
- The Spanish international would score a brace of goals which wrapped up the three all important points
- His first eight minutes before the restart was a well taken header but his second goal was even better
- At this point Chelsea were purring, after neat build up work and a quick interchange of passes the ball fell to Costa who fired hard and low, leaving Fraser Forster with no chance
- Game over and Chelsea back in the ascendancy in terms of the title race
- There was still time for another Stamford Bridge old boy to grab a consolation as Ryan Bertrand made the scoreline respectable out of 4-2
- In the grand scheme of things the only thing it dents is Chelsea’s goal difference
- But more importantly they have the points on the board and Tottenham have it all to do against a resurgent Crystal Palace
- As for Southampton, they are on the beach really what with their mid table placing right now
- The best they can hope for is a top 10 finish come the end of the season. They gave a good account of themselves
- But they were simply outclassed by this blue juggernaut
- We keep saying that Chelsea have cleared important hurdles but if they can win against Everton on Merseyside this Sunday then it surely is a case of when and not if the title returns to West London.
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