Southampton vs Chelsea LIVE!
Chelsea's impressive 5-1 win at bottom club Southampton closed the gap to leaders Liverpool in the Premier League on Wednesday, with the home side having Jack Stephens sent off before half time for a hair-pull on Marc Cucurella.
Chelsea took the lead in the seventh minute through an Axel Disasi header but Joe Aribo drew Southampton level four minutes later before a goalkeeping howler allowed Christopher Nkunku in to put the visitors back ahead within six minutes.
Noni Madueke extended Chelsea's lead 11 minutes from the break and despite the red card for Stephens, the visitors had to wait until the 76th minute before Cole Palmer added a fourth and three minutes from time Jadon Sancho rounded off the win.
Chelsea provisionally move up to second in the standings on 28 points, seven off leaders Liverpool and two ahead of Manchester City, with Arsenal, who are in action against Manchester United, a further point back. Southampton remain on five points.
Southampton vs Chelsea latest updates
- GOAL! Sancho nets first Blues goal
- GOAL! Palmer wraps it up
- RED CARD! Stephens sent off after hair pull
- GOAL! Madueke fires home on the angle
- GOAL! Howler hands Nkunku a tap in
- GOAL! Hosts hit back straight away
91min: Six minutes added on.
GOAL!
21:17 , Alex Young87min: Sancho wraps it up with his first goal for the club!
He beats Lumley inside his near post after being fed into the area by Gusto.
85min: Jackson cuts a cold figure on the sidelines. Got a smile on his face, at least.
79min: Palmer and Cucurella are off, Veiga and Dewsbury-Hall on.
GOAL!
21:07 , Alex Young77min: Palmer is on hand to tap home after Nkunku turns in the area and shoots off while off balance.
Superb work by the French forward.
75min: We’ve got a pitch invader, which obviously I can’t tell you about as it’s too offensive for TV cameras to show.
72min: Sancho is on for Madueke.
Sugawara is on for Archer.
70min: Chelsea players lining up to shoot on goal.
65min: Madueke denied by a fine save from Lumley after Cucurella floats a great ball to the back post.
62min: Diaz is on for Southampton, replacing Armstrong.
60min: Bit of excitement as the referee goes to the sidelines, and it looks like he’s going to check something but, no, he just needs to change some batteries in his microphone.
58min: Southampton have faded again and just keep giving the ball away in their own half.
SITTER!
20:45 , Alex Young55min: Madueke now missing what looked like a sitter, with Lumley on the deck, but it’s a fantastic tackle from Manning.
POST!
20:43 , Alex Young53min: Chelsea corner, it comes right through to Tosin at the back post who hits a great half-volley from close range but finds the inside of the post and the ball bounces away.
51min: Southampton have started the second half quite well, though Chelsea are hardly under pressure to, well, put them under pressure.
46min: Oh my word, how has Palmer not scored?!
He has the whole goal gaping, and heads wide when unmarked after being found by Palmer.
46min: Southampton get us back underway. No changes.
The players are back out.
You wonder if Maresca will make further changes at half-time. This game is as good as won, time to give Dewsbury-Hall a run out?
Christmas has come early for Chelsea as Southampton have gifted them this game.
Half-time!
20:20 , Alex Young51min: Boos from the home fans.
50min: Another Chelsea corner, which almost lands at Felix’s feet but he’s offside anyway.
49min: Almost a fourth for Chelsea as Madueke nearly finds Felix at the back post with a glorious, whipped pass.
Good defending from Walker-Peters.
47min: Another corner for Southampton which has come to nothing.
46min: FIVE minutes added on.
44min: Chelsea have still got a deep bench to call upon should they want. This could get very messy.
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
20:11 , Alex YoungIn fairness to Jack Stephens, Marc Cucurella has got one of those barnets that you’d instinctively like to give a little tug.
Probably unwise to do it while marking him at a corner though.
RED CARD!
20:09 , Alex YoungStephens is sent off! What an idiotic thing to do.
38min: Cucurella hits the deck after Stephens pulls his hair.
The referee didn’t see it... but now he is going to the monitor.
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
20:07 , Alex YoungA lot of home fans out of their seats and heading for the concourse right now. That’s a pretty early half-time pint…
36min: Nkunku with a headed attempt which spins over the bar and onto the roof of the net.
GOAL!
20:04 , Alex Young34min: Lovely from Madueke, who cuts onto his left and beats Lumley on the angle from the edge of the area.
They are strolling to victory.
32min: Archer simply has to pass the ball after dinking into the area, cutting onto his right foot and then goes alone and gets crowded out.
Had about three team-mates screaming for it.
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
20:01 , Alex YoungIt’s almost too easy this. You just drop off, set the trap and wait for Lumley to roll it into someone who doesn’t want it.
30min: It is Fernandez... and it’s into the wall.
29min: Palmer is fouled to win a free kick around 30 yards out, centre of the goal. Fernandez wants it, but surely Palmer?
BAR
19:56 , Alex Young25min: Tosin clangs the bar with a header at the corner!
POST!
19:55 , Alex Young25min: Palmer should score!
Southampton corner is easily cleared and Chelsea break through Felix, who waits and waits and finds Palmer with a perfect ball... and Lumley denies him at the near post.
24min: Southampton win their first corner after Manning is tackled. They need to build some momentum and confidence again.
23min: Felix nicks the ball off Saints player in midfielder and is given time and space to try his luck from 25 yards, but his shot trickles wide.
22min: Palmer’s first sight of goal after Madueke is denied and Southampton only half-clear, but it’s a shot through a packed area.
21min: Fraser fouls someone and the chance immediately ends.
20min: Free kick for Saints around 40 yards out. This one will be floated in...
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
19:49 , Alex YoungI’m afraid this is the problem with this Southampton side. They will just gift you goals, regardless of how well they’re playing.
Maresca had most of his team in a frantic huddle on the touchline while Nkunku was off doing his balloon celebration, which tells you he’s not happy despite the scoreline.
GOAL!
19:48 , Alex Young17min: Deary me. Just criminal defending from Lumley, who passes straight to Madueke, who finds Nkunku to pass into an empty net.
15min: Southampton are playing some great football. This is no walk in the park for this much-changed Chelsea team.
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
19:42 , Alex YoungWell there you go. An instant response, with Disasi and Tosin both on their heels.
It’ll be alarming for Maresca how easily Southampton have passed through his midfield to get to his back-four.
GOAL!
19:41 , Alex Young11min: There we go! Instant reply from Southampton!
Walker-Peters does superbly down the flank, looks up and spots Aribo in space in the six-yard box with Tosin ball-watching.
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
19:40 , Alex YoungI thought Southampton actually started pretty well there but it’s not great defending at the front post.
Disasi didn’t exactly have to make a clever dart or a massive leap. So tame from Joe Lumley.
8min: That is so frustrating for Southampton, who half-hearted complain of a foul on the goalkeeper from Cucurella but there’s nothing in it.
The hosts had started well.
GOAL!
19:37 , Alex Young7min: First Chelsea chance, first Chelsea goal! Disasi heads home the corner, beating Lumley to the ball at the near post.
6min: Another half-chance for Southampton as Bree tries to find a team-mate in the area, but Chelsea eventually snuff out the danger.
4min: Lumley sends a free kick straight out of play. Chelsea haven’t had too much time on the ball just yet.
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
19:33 , Alex YoungYou can tell that Southampton are a team short on confidence.
Two or three times in that passage they won the ball high or had a Chelsea player under pressure and just hesitated, as if they were surprised by the opening.
2min: First shot on target and it’s for Aribo, who drills at Jorgensen from close range, but the keeper is a match to it... and then the offside flag is raised.
Kick-off!
19:30 , Alex Young1min: Here we go!
A rendition of ‘Oh when the Saints’ before the off.
Here come the teams.
Some fireworks at St Mary’s ahead of kick-off.
Enzo Maresca to Amazon Prime
19:14 , Alex Young“We used to make changes game by game, every time. I said already that we are just one squad, no 'A' team or 'B' team and tonight we decided to make seven changes.
“I don't think there is any risk [to the changes.]. They are all good players and all deserve to play.”
Maresca: I never doubted myself, even if Chelsea fans did
18:59 , Alex YoungEnzo Maresca marked six months in the job yesterday, and spoke about his appointment in the summer and winning over the fans.
Having so far exceeded all expectations, the Italian says neither self-belief nor his inexperience were ever of serious concern.
“Doubt myself? For sure, no,” he said. “Eddie Howe, when he started. He had experience? No. Pep [Guardiola], when he started at Barcelona. Experience? No. Mikel [Arteta], when he started at Arsenal. Experience? No.
“We all are in the same situation. When you start, you don’t have experience. You cannot go to the supermarket and buy experience. So, you need time. But it’s not only for me, it’s for all of us in different jobs.
“In terms of doubting myself? No. When we finish some games and [the media] ask me: ‘Are you worried about this or that?’ I am always worried because I try always until the end to do the right things. But it doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in what I do.”
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
18:46 , Alex YoungHere’s our man is technicolour.
"Maresca called this his team's toughest test so far..."
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) December 4, 2024
The teamsheet doesn't match the boss's pre-match verdict. Here's @MalikOuzia_ with more.#SOUCHE pic.twitter.com/OnPlJspsFE
The photographer as St Mary’s has found his camera and found Palmer and Hasselbaink having a chat.
So it’s SEVEN changes for Chelsea.
Second-choice keeper Jorgensen gets a first Premier League start, and in front of him Gusto, Disasi, Tosin , Madueke, Joao Felix and Nkunku all also come in.
Southampton make four changes, which are all enforced. Bree, Wood and Aribo relace the suspended Dibling, Harwood-Bellis and Downes.
Malik Ouzia at St Mary's
18:26 , Alex YoungI was expecting a little bit of rotation from Chelsea tonight but definitely not that much.
It’s not as if Maresca’s first-team stars can be absolutely exhausted at this point - they’ve had most midweeks off all season.
Team news in full
18:25 , Alex YoungChelsea XI: Jorgensen, Gusto, Disasi, Adarabioyo, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernández, Madueke, Palmer, Felix, Nkunku
Subs: Sanchez, Badiashile, Colwill, Veiga, Dewsbury-Hall, Lavia, Neto, Jackson, Sancho
Southampton XI: Lumley, Walker-Peters, Bree, Stephens, Wood, Manning, Fraser, Aribo, Fernandes, Armstrong, Archer
Subs: McCarthy, Edwards, Sugawara, Taylor, Sulemana, Cornet, Amo-Ameyaw, O'Brien-Whitmarsh, Brereton Díaz
Southampton
18:19 , Alex Young...and the hosts!
Your starting XI ❤️ pic.twitter.com/SH7WqOrKbT
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 4, 2024
Chelsea XI
18:18 , Alex YoungPlenty of changes!
Your Chelsea. ✊#CFC | #SOUCHE pic.twitter.com/ODVgnSgKP9
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 4, 2024
Sounds like, yes, Maresca has made some changes.
Team news to come in 15 minutes. Surely Enzo Maresca will be tempted to make changes, especially with Tottenham to come at the weekend.
Latest match odds
17:51 , Alex YoungIt’s a very tall order for Southampton tonight.
- Southampton: 7/1
- Draw: 7/2
- Chelsea: 2/9
(Odds via Betfair.)
Reunion for Martin and Maresca
17:40 , Alex YoungSouthampton manager Russell Martin knows both he and Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca face very different challenges as they prepare to go head-to-head again - but this time in the Premier League.
Maresca's Leicester won both of their league games against Southampton last season in the Championship - running out 4-1 winners at St Mary's during September and then romping to a 5-0 home win at the end of April.
"Last year, they played us early on and it was probably a good time to play us at our place. Then it was probably a really bad time to play them at their place," Martin recalled.
"We had taken a really difficult result at the weekend (losing at Cardiff) and they were in such a good place, very close to winning the league.
"We would have learned a bit, they would have learned a bit about us for sure - but also I think his challenge is different now, he has very different players.
"Our challenge is different now, so the context of the game is different. Of course there will be stuff that we learned from it and he did, but I think it is very different."
Maresca lays out timeline for Chelsea to 'dominate English football'
17:31 , Alex YoungEnzo Maresca believes his highflying Chelsea side will come to dominate English football within the next decade - but fears tonight’s trip to struggling Southampton will be their “toughest game” of the season so far.
The Blues are third in the Premier League, level on points and goal difference with second-place Arsenal following their comprehensive 3-0 victory over Aston Villa last weekend.
Maresca has, however, repeatedly dismissed the suggestion that they are ready to contend for the title on account of a lack of experience, with his starting XIs this season easily the youngest in the Premier League.
The Blues have completed a huge overhaul of their squad under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital’s ownership, with a focus on signing players aged 24 and under, and Maresca says their potential will come to the fore in the coming years - whether or not he is still in charge.
“I still think what I said to owners and sporting directors the first time I met them,” Maresca said. “Because of the age and how good the squad is, for me, Chelsea in the next five or ten years will be the team or one of the teams that will dominate English football.
“This is what I said to the club the first time I met them. No matter who will be the manager, because of the squad and the age, you can dominate English football.”
Score prediction
17:21 , Alex YoungA feature of Southampton’s season thus far has to be the self-inflicted mistakes that have lead to them conceding goals as it’s cost them dearly on so many occasions.
But their approach won’t change and whilst that bravery is something to be admired, it’s difficult to see past a comfortable Chelsea victory.
Chelsea to win 3-0.
Southampton team news
17:16Southampton could be without up to 11 first-team players this evening.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Flynn Downes and Tyler Dibling will all miss out through suspension after picking up their fifth yellow cards of the season in Saints’ draw with Brighton.
This leaves Russell Martin with a selection headache as he’s also without Aaron Ramsdale, Alex McCarthy, Gavin Bazunu and Adam Lallana because of injury. Lesley Ugochukwu also cannot play against his parent club.
Furthermore, Ross Stewart, Paul Onuachu and Will Smallbone are doubtful. Jan Bednarek could return.
Chelsea team news
17:10 , Alex YoungChelsea will have a new centre-back partner for Levi Colwill tonight following an injury to Wesley Fofana which could sideline the defender for the rest of the year.
The choice would appear to come down to Benoit Badiashile, who replaced Fofana on Sunday but is, like Colwill, left-footed, or Tosin Adarabioyo. Maresca also has Axel Disasi as an option but the Frenchman did not even make the bench against Villa.
Elsewhere, Maresca must decide how much to rotate ahead of the weekend’s London derby against Tottenham. Noni Madueke will likely come back into the side after being benched against Villa.
Malo Gusto could also start, while Maresca could continue to be cautious with Romeo Lavia’s workload by benching the Belgian and pushing Moises Caicedo back into midfield.
Top-scorer Christopher Nkunku is also pushing for a first Premier League start since the opening day of the season, but may have to wait, with Nicolas Jackson in prolific form.
Reece James is still facing “weeks” out of action with a hamstring injury.
How to watch Southampton vs Chelsea
17:04 , Alex YoungTV channel: The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video. Coverage starts at 6.30pm GMT ahead of a 7.30pm GMT kick-off.
Live stream: The Amazon Prime website and app will offer subscribers a live stream.
Free highlights: Free highlights: In the UK, Match of the Day broadcasts on BBC One at 10.40pm GMT on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.
Welcome
17:00 , Alex YoungGood evening and welcome to the London Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Southampton and Chelsea.
The Blues will be fairly confident of leaving the south coast tonight with all three points, as they take on the worst team in the league while enjoying their own best run of form of the season.
A win tonight and Arsenal dropping points later on against Manchester United - which is no guarantee - will leave him sitting pretty in second. But don’t tell Enzo Maresca that Chelsea are in a title race, he won’t believe you.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm. Stick with us.
