EPL

Southampton 2-1 Chelsea: Armstrong completes stunning Saints comeback against lacklustre Blues

By Sports Desk August 30, 2022

Southampton came from behind to stun Chelsea 2-1 as Adam Armstrong's goal dealt Thomas Tuchel's men their second defeat of the Premier League season.

Chelsea hit the front through Raheem Sterling after 23 minutes, but Romeo Lavia's powerful long-range strike dragged Southampton level five minutes later before Armstrong put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time.

With Reece James missing through illness, Chelsea struggled to create throughout a disjointed performance, and Kai Havertz squandered their best chance to level after the break.

The result saw Ralph Hasenhuttl's men draw level with Chelsea in the early Premier League table after a lively display, as the Blues' unconvincing start to the campaign continued.

Sterling produced a tame attempt when presented with Chelsea's first chance 13 minutes in, but he made amends to hand the Blues the lead, turning to poke home at the second attempt following good work from Mason Mount.

Chelsea's lead did not last long, however, with Lavia latching onto Havertz's clearance to open his Premier League account in spectacular fashion by drilling a vicious 18-yard strike past Edouard Mendy.

Southampton then hit the front through a well-worked goal as half-time approached, Armstrong controlling Romain Perraud's cross before composing himself and firing into Mendy's top-left corner.

Marc Cucurella kept Chelsea in the contest with an incredible goal-line block from Mohamed Elyounoussi's header after the break, before Havertz headed over from six yards when left unmarked as he met Cesar Azpilicueta's cross.

That represented Chelsea's clearest opportunity to find a leveller, with Thiago Silva forced to clear Mohammed Salisu's 73rd-minute header off the line as Saints went close to a third.

What does it mean? Away-day blues continue for Tuchel

Chelsea never looked entirely comfortable on the south coast despite taking an early lead, and the meek loss means they have lost consecutive Premier League away matches for the first time since December 2020 under Frank Lampard.

Tuchel, meanwhile, has been dealt his first back-to-back league losses on the road since he was coaching Paris Saint-Germain in August 2019, and his attentions will now turn to attracting much-required reinforcements before the transfer deadline.

Sterling shows his value

Having fired Chelsea to a hard-fought victory over Leicester City last time out, Sterling maintained his strong start at Stamford Bridge by opening the scoring.

Since Sterling made his Premier League debut for Liverpool in March 2012, he has 169 goal involvements in the competition, putting him level with Mohamed Salah with the joint-fourth highest tally in that time.

Armstrong ends drought

Armstrong had endured a long wait for a Premier League goal, with his composed strike marking his first time on the scoresheet in 18 games since he netted against Aston Villa last November.

The striker has only scored three times in 43 appearances in the competition overall, and Tuesday's strike is sure to be remembered as his most crucial to date.

What's next?

Chelsea welcome West Ham to Stamford Bridge for a London derby on Saturday, while Southampton go to Wolves on the same day.

Related items

  • Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win

    Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.

    City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.

    “Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game

    “I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.

    “[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.

    “At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.

    “I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”

    The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.

    Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.

    “We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.

    “It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.

    “Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”

     

  • Harwood-Bellis 'didn't quite believe' first senior England call-up Harwood-Bellis 'didn't quite believe' first senior England call-up

    Taylor Harwood-Bellis revealed he was in a state of disbelief when he was told about his first call-up to the England senior team last week.

    Harwood-Bellis, along with Newcastle's Lewis Hall, received their maiden Three Lions call-ups in Lee Carsley's final squad as interim head coach. 

    The Southampton defender has impressed under Russell Martin this season, featuring in all of their Premier League fixtures so far this season. 

    Harwood-Bellis has won more aerial duels (13) for the Saints in the top-flight this term, with only Jan Bednarek (888) completing more passes than the 22-year-old (684). 

    He is also someone well known to the interim boss from his time in charge of England's Under-21's side, with his 21 appearances more than any other player during Carsley's tenure in the current Three Lions squad.

    "Lee Carsley rang me in the morning and said, 'you'll be with us, with the seniors'. I didn't quite believe it at first," he told a press conference.

    "My partner was next to me and I phoned my dad, who was very proud. He loves when I play for England, even the younger age groups.

    "One of the first people to message me was Aaron Ramsdale. I was happy to see his name as he's one of my mates at the club."

    Unfortunately for Harwood-Bellis, Ramsdale has since pulled out of the squad with a finger injury and has been replaced by Burnley's James Trafford. 

    England travel to Athens to take on Group B2 leaders Greece on Thursday before returning to Wembley three days later as they square off against the Republic of Ireland. 

    With a number of first-team regulars out through injury, Harwood-Bellis has the opportunity to become the first Saints player to represent England since Kyle Walker-Peters did so back in 2022.

    The defender understood the potential ramifications of performing well for the Three Lions during this international break, with Thomas Tuchel taking over in the new year.

    "It will be a big motivation for all of the lads, knowing that there's a new manager coming in and wanting to keep your spot," he said. 

    "That's something that especially the younger lads will be pushing towards. 

    "It's going to be difficult because of the quality and experience in some of the lads that aren't here is massive.

    "It'll be difficult, but it'll be something that I'll focus on week in and week out for Southampton and if I get minutes here."

  • Forest taught 'a lesson' as winning run ended by Newcastle according to Nuno Forest taught 'a lesson' as winning run ended by Newcastle according to Nuno

    Nuno Espirito Santo acknowledged Nottingham Forest were taught "a lesson" by Newcastle United, even if he did not criticise his side following a 3-1 defeat at the City Ground.

    Forest had won their previous three matches to climb to third in the Premier League, and Murillo's opener had them on course for another victory.

    But that goal came against the run of play, and Newcastle continued to dominate, eventually equalising through Alexander Isak.

    Forest, who have been so solid at the back this season, went chasing victory and were instead caught out as both Joelinton and Harvey Barnes scored on the break.

    Those counter-attacks have been a large part of Forest's own attacking identity previously, and Nuno was full of praise for how ruthlessly Newcastle executed that tactic.

    "I cannot say that was a bad performance, that is totally out of the question," the Forest boss told BBC Sport.

    "We played against a very good team that was able to control us and then hurt us in the way we've been doing. It is a lesson for us to learn.

    "I just have to recognise that today we played a good team, who were better than us in many, many moments.

    "There's nothing to say about the [Forest] players. The character and belief was there."

    Newcastle were a little unfortunate to trail at half-time, having had seven shots to Forest's three and 60% of the possession.

    Yet Eddie Howe, the Newcastle coach, still saw plenty of room for improvement, which his side delivered on after the restart.

    "It was difficult, but we knew it would be," he said. "They are a difficult team to play against because they don't concede many chances and you're left fearing the worst when you go behind.

    "We had work to do at half-time, but credit to the players because the second half was up there with our best performances this season.

    "Everything we didn't do in the first half, we did at the start of the second half. We were intense and direct with our attacking. We asked more questions and could have scored.

    "I'm really pleased with the second half."

    Newcastle have won three in a row in all competitions for the first time in over a year, helped by a return to form for their attacking stars.

    Isak had netted only once this season before scoring in the past four successive matches, while Barnes again showed his quality from the bench. Six of his nine Newcastle goals have come as a substitute.

    Howe added: "We need our attacking players to contribute goals, and Alex has done that in the past few weeks with massive moments, then Joelinton and Harvey Barnes pop up with moments, too.

    "We know we have players who can make that difference, and I'm really pleased with that side of our game.

    "Harvey Barnes did what he does. He's an outstanding player. Trying to find room for him in the team is something that I am conscious of.

    "I'm really pleased he got that goal – I thought it was a fantastic finish."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.