LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 25: Christopher Nkunku of Chelsea celebrates with his teammates after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Southampton FC at Stamford Bridge on February 25, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)
Chelsea moved up to fourth spot on the Premier League with a 4-0 thrashing of Southampton on Tuesday night.
Premier League
Result: Chelsea 4-0 Southampton
Date: 25 February 2025
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Blues coach Enzo Maresca made two changes from the loss to Aston Villa, as Jadon Sancho and Tosin Adarabioyo replaced Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah.
Chelsea dominated possession from the onset but were finding it tough to carve out clear-cutc chances in the final third while the Saints were happy to sit back and soak up pressure.
The Blues should have taken the lead on 22 minutes when Enzo Fernandez played Cole Palmer through on goal, but the England international could not beat Saints goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Ramsdale’s resistance was broken from the resultant corner, as Christopher Nkunku got on the end of Adarabioyo’s flick on and head past Ramsdale at the far post.
The lead was doubled ten minutes before the halftime break as Nkunku turned provider to play in Pedro Neto, who sent a powerful finish past Ramsdale at his near post.
There was enough time for Chelsea to bag a third goal before the interval, this time from a set-piece as Neto’s free-kick found the run of defender Levi Colwill, who guided his header into the back of the net.
Maresca’s troops carried that momentum into the second period and they should have had a fourth goal just before the hour mark when Nkunku set up Palmer in the box, however the latter failed to hit the target.
However, Chelsea had to wait until the 80th minute for the fourth goal as substitute Tyrique George got into the box before picking out Marc Cucurella, who took one touch before firing into the far corner to complete the win.
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