Chapter 1: What were the key moments in Chelsea's victory over Southampton?
Southampton shouldn't leave him space. He's drilled the ball in from an improbable angle. Chelsea score in the sixth minute. Costa... Brilliant! Nothing really on, but he's just bent it into that far corner. Chelsea have doubled their lead, it's looking very good for them again at St Mary's. Yeah, very impressive victory for Chelsea. Momentum is building, isn't it?
Two-goal victory, seven shots on target to Southampton's one. Didn't manage to win the Saints in that second half. And Chelsea in the end with five more touches in the opposition box after a very strong second-half performance. That possession close-up as well to 55-45 and Southampton with 80 more passes in the end than Chelsea. Well, they kept another clean sheet. Those three at the back.
Four wins on the bounce. Four clean sheets on the bounce. Let's hear from the skipper, Gary Cahill, with Jeff Shreves. Gary, fourth straight win, fourth clean sheet against a team that hadn't lost at home. Is that very good business you've carried out today?
Yeah, extremely. We knew that before. I think obviously we were the last ones to be here, so the record for them at home is very, very good and we knew that. But we also knew that if we carried on in the form that we was in, in the league, we were causing problems and today proved that way. But we had to dig in at times. show another side of ourselves.
We were a bit of character when we dug in, worked hard, especially first half, they put us under quite a bit of pressure after that first goal.
Clean sheets don't come about by accident. How much is there a clean sheet mentality in the team, even when you're winning the game?
Exactly, we spoke, we knew early on in the season we were letting goals in. Like you said, it's no coincidence, we've worked hard in training, each and every individual player's worked hard, we've worked hard on the shape, what the manager's brought now, and we're getting the rewards.
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Chapter 2: How did Chelsea's performance compare to Southampton's?
I said last week it's all about having the shape and everything like that, but it's to do with the mentality of the players to go out and dig in and do the business when we need to. We've got flair players that can create and score goals like you've seen today, Also, we needed to dig in and defend well. We did that today, so four wins in the lead now, four clean sheets. We keep going.
How big an asset when you have players like Diego Costa and Eden Hazard in your side, though? Are they the difference?
Like I said, you need these types of players. You're in a big team, you're in a big club. You need these types of players that can turn a game at any moment. And certainly in them two players, along with others, we've got that in the side. Diego's goal, when we're 1-0,
and like I said, we're digging in, the shape was good, we felt good, we had a few chances as well, but then all of a sudden he turns and whips on, you know, nearing off in the top corner, that's a difference sometimes, and obviously a pleasure to have these guys on the side.
With City, Liverpool and Arsenal all winning yesterday, did that sharpen your focus as well?
Yeah, we obviously knew that, we were aware of that, and although it's too early, in terms of anybody talking about winning a league at the minute, it's important that you stay involved and you stay up near the top, you don't want to get too big, so we knew that we had to win today. But like you said, it's a difficult place to come and win, so today is great for us.
At one point off, the league leaders, surely you've got to admit, are certainly contenders.
That's what we want to be, we want to be up and among it, I can't see anybody running away with it this year, so we want to be in there, we want to be involved, we want to be up and among it, and we needed to win today to make sure we were still there, so, like I said, a great day for us, great afternoon, and we'll enjoy it now.
Great stuff, Gary. Eden Hazard picked up the Premier League man match, will you pass it along to him for us, please? Yeah, if possible, no problem. Jamie, just how impressive was that from Chelsea today against a good Southampton team?
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Chapter 3: What impact did Chelsea's early goals have on the match?
Teams were running all over them. They didn't have that quality. And I don't want to just point him out as that person, but Eden Hazard was way off it. And then you look at him today, he makes such a difference. When he's like the form that he's in today, he's a joy to watch. And he sets the tempo because... He lifts the Chelsea players.
Every time he got the ball, you felt something was going to happen. He's such a great release for the team. He gets you up the pitch. I thought he was absolutely magnificent today. And he's the one player in this Chelsea team. When they won it two years ago, he was player of the year. He was fantastic. And he's at that level now at Graham, isn't he?
He's back to that brilliance that he was a few years ago.
Yeah, he's now playing in a position that he really, really enjoys. I think under Jose Mourinho, he's been asked to do a job wide, and he didn't particularly enjoy that, and yet he's still one player of the year in this country. But I think it'd be wrong just to talk about him. I think...
Like Gary Cale mentioned there, they've got flair players who, when they get in the last third, can do real damage. Those same flair players are doing a job when they don't have the ball. I mean, we'll show you later, Moses, for example, you know, the amount of work. He's transformed him. And I think they've sent out a message both this week and last week that this is a very dangerous outfit.
Provided they can keep this little man fit along with Costa. They're not going to be far away. They play a brand of football which won't be everyone's cup of tea, but as an old professional, I think that was a... and now on perfect performance away from home, because this is a decent Southampton team.
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Chapter 4: How did Chelsea maintain their defensive strength in this match?
No one comes here and has an easy ride. And they nullified Southampton. They limited them to just one shot on target. And I thought that was a very, very impressive performance by Chelsea.
You felt before we were talking, you felt it was very much an Italian performance.
Yeah, I said that last week as well. You know, you're playing at home. You have 44% of possession, but you win 4-0. Today, I don't know what the possession stat was at the end, but certainly similar. And I've ended up winning 1-0. I think the point I wanted to make last week, and this is a similar one today, they have less of the ball, but I can't remember them being under the cosh.
I can't remember them really being under pressure. You know, they look dangerous. They're happy with that back three, come back five when they don't have the ball to sit in there and say, come on, show us what you've got and to deal with whatever's been thrown at them both last week and this week. So why won't it be to everyone's cup of tea, the style?
Well, I think, you know, it's counter-attacking football. And that's very Italian. And that's something that's never changed from when I was a player. I went to play in Italy. I had playing games against Juventus. I had Boniek. Sharia had Platini. And you're thinking, wait a minute, we've just lost that game 1-0, but we had most of the ball.
And I think that's the feeling teams will come away from playing this Chelsea team over the season. Wait a minute, I've played in a game, I felt we bossed it, but we've lost 2-0. We've lost 1-0. And I think that's... But they've got a nice balance going for them. They've got six goals in two games.
They've got proper players that make a difference.
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Chapter 5: What did Gary Cahill say about the team's mentality?
And players that, when we use the phrase in football, they're at it. You can see there's a hunger again about this Chelsea team. And when you've got the likes of Costa, because it wasn't long ago we were questioning what's it going to be like when Lampard, Cech... Terry, Drogba, big players in that dressing room. What's the future going to be like for Chelsea?
Are they going to miss those players? But the truth is, when you look at this at the moment, the future looks good again. He's got hunger. The manager's brought that in and they're buying into it, the players. You can see every single player on that pitch for Chelsea is working hard and there's a desire about them again.
We're going to highlight the system later on that they're playing. But unless you've got, and Gary Keel said it, unless you've got players that roll their sleeves up, and he mentioned flair players that do the dirty work, no system works. Nothing's right if players are not working their socks off.
And that's what he's got, he's got them focused, and he's got players who a year ago would never have done the kind of work they're doing today, going backwards towards their own goal. Well, let's have a look now, Graham. Talk us through it. Mm-hmm. Well... I think the first thing we highlight is when they haven't got the ball. And look at the back five. It is a back five.
The two wide players, Alonso, Moses, drop in, become full backs, if you like. And these are players you'd normally associate with doing damage the other end of the pitch. Also look at Costa here. Look at his positioning. So at this point, they've always got 11 people behind the ball when necessary.
And for me, again, I come back to watching 90 minutes of that today, I'd never thought they were under pressure.
But this is with the ball, Graham, isn't it? Look at the options you've got. You see Kante's on the ball there.
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Chapter 6: How did Eden Hazard and Diego Costa influence the game?
You've got your three centre-backs. You've got Moses, who's the furthest away. And look at that space then that Alonso's got. So if you're a midfield player, you could do that ball with your eyes closed. And it gives you such a great outlet. Look at all of a sudden, you've got people running into the box and you're a great counter-attack inside. So it shows you how difficult it is.
But this is a player, Graham, that you felt, if it hadn't been Hazard, would have been man of the match today.
Yeah, Moses. This is a guy you'd normally associate with further up the pitch, dropping a shoulder, having a shot. Today, I mean, when necessary, he becomes a fullback and he's got aggression. This is a foul he gives away here. But, you know, it shows the determination not to get beat. you know, not to expose anyone behind them.
And then we see the other thing, the other side of him, which we've, you know, for the last few years we associate with him. I'm lucky not to score there.
Because the important thing with this system is you don't get stuck in a back five. If that happens all the time with and without the ball, all you're doing is just asking for trouble. But the way that Chelsea do it, as soon as they get that ball and they release the ball into Kante or Matic, he knows I've got that ball either that way onto the left back or you can switch it right.
It'll be a dream for you in midfield because you can just do it with your eyes closed. But you've got to know what each player's doing. And you can see it here. Conte has just got them so well drilled. Everybody knows their job when they have the ball. But defensively, it suits people like Azpilicueta. I thought he was fantastic today. David Luiz looks... I'm scared to say it.
He looks a serious defender. He looks like a serious player. And that's what... If you've got him buying into it as well... And that was always a problem for Chelsea for many years.
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Chapter 7: What challenges did Southampton face during the match?
But when he's like that, he looks the real deal.
I've got... Leaving Liverpool, we always played 4-4-2. And then when I went to Italy, we played three at the back. And played against a lot of teams that had three at the back. And for a midfield player, if you could pass it, it was a dream in those days in Italy. I mean, what you've got to have in the wider areas are proper athletes. Because, you know... It's a big shift they have to put in.
It's box to box. And they've got to be able to do that for 90 minutes. I know they took Moses off towards the end today. And that's only to be expected because it's such a shift. You have to be a certain type of player, a certain build to be able to do that.
And what they haven't got to be necessarily is with that system, great defenders. Because if you ask Marcus Alonso to be just an out and out left back, he would struggle in the four. I don't think defensively he's good enough. But he knows if he does go up the pitch, he's got Gary Cahill coming into those areas. And it's the same with Victor Moses.
He's got Azpilicueta, who's quick as lightning, covers ground. And that's why the system really works well.
It's a very pacey back five that they've got. And as we've seen today, as you've already mentioned, both of you, they have the quality at the top end of the pitch. And is it helping, Graham, that they are scoring early goals as well? Of course it helps.
It settles you down all of a sudden. You're not taking an extra touch. You're playing one and two touch. And they're on the front foot. But this is...
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Chapter 8: What are the implications of this match for Chelsea's title ambitions?
You want to pick holes in it. Romeo could do better. Davis has a look. He decides not to track Hazard. But give credit to Hazard. He's fired it in there. The goalkeeper is 6'5". He's fired it in an area where goalkeepers don't like, between the legs. See, Davis decides to stay here. He doesn't want Moses having one-on-one with his full-back. And you can point out that's a mistake.
If he goes with them and then Moses skips past a full-back and lashes it on himself, you're saying he should have stayed. But that was a decision made in an instant and he got it wrong.
And he's got his tail up. He's scored five already this season, one more than he managed all of last term. Diego Costa, too, is eighth. of the season today, Jamie. Does he look on top form? Absolutely.
Well, I'll be honest, when he plays this ball to Hazard, I'm thinking, go on then, show me something. And when he passed at the cross, I said, what are you doing that for? You take him on. And then he does that. I don't know what the defender's doing, Martina.
He should be with your missus on Saturday night.
Strictly come dancing.
What do you mean? What is he doing here?
It's a new move. I don't know what that one is. It's the back... Tango, I think they call that one. But look at him. Look, yeah, look. One, two, three. That's shocking. The quality of the strike. The quality of the strike, yeah, absolutely. Let's joke an aside, that is a brilliant strike. And you can see he's a brilliant goalkeeper in really good form.
And look how far away he is from stopping it. It's at least half a yard.
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