Chelsea v Southampton player ratings
Chelsea suffered a demoralising defeat against Southampton, continuing their awful start to the season. Here’s how we rated the Blues players in the 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge.
Asmir Begovic: 6
Pulled off a fine block from Ryan Bertrand and made two decent saves soon after the restart, but could do nothing about any of the three goals he conceded.
Branislav Ivanovic: 5
The harder he tries the more uncomfortable he seems to look. Offered very little in attack and, despite this, was still regularly – and too easily – beaten in defence. His lack of confidence was clear.
John Terry: 5
Got the chance to prove his worth, but was nowhere near his assured best on his recall. Made some important interceptions early on and a couple of typical blocks, but was culpable for the second Saints goal.
Gary Cahill: 4
A nightmare performance from the England defender. He was given the runaround by the brilliant Sadio Mane and was erratic in possession and rash in the challenge.
Cesar Azpilicueta: 6
Was steady defensively and Chelsea’s best player, but needed to show more quality when he got in some dangerous positions.
Ramires: 4
Ran around plenty but with minimal impact and even less quality. Needed his energy, but he never got close to the ball and was very fortunate not to concede a penalty when he tripped Mane.
Cesc Fabregas: 5
Needed to show leadership more than ever without Nemanja Matic alongside him and failed. Let Steven Davis run past him for the equaliser and, although he kept running, he was way off the pace.
Eden Hazard: 6
Still demands the ball when nothing is going right around him and provided the only realistic hope of sparking a revival despite being double marked. Lacked support and options when he did get in decent positions.
Oscar: 5
Some probing runs and decent defensive work could not disguise the fact he wasted several promising situations in the final third, showing a rare lack of awareness and also a lack of quality.
Willian: 5
Impressive in the opening 20 minutes and scored a wonderful free-kick. But pretty much disappeared after that and was replaced soon after the hour.
Radamel Falcao: 5
Won plenty in the air early on but had little support and became increasingly isolated. Cleverly made the most of the second-half penalty claim, and nine times out of ten he would have earned a spot-kick.
Nemanja Matic: 4
The half-time substitute suffered the indignity of being replaced after an ineffective 28 minutes which saw Southampton totally dominate the midfield and earn their winning position. Didn’t adjust to the pace of the game.
Pedro: 5
Contributed almost nothing after coming on but the game was as good as lost anyway and with Chelsea so disjointed, it would have been a remarkable effort to drag his side back in to the match.
Loic Remy: 5
Had 25 minutes but barely featured. Didn’t get much of a chance to shine but hardly showed the appetite and desire that was required.
