Report

IBO Reporter: Spot51

|It looked like a shitty night with rain falling in Southampton as Chelsea kicked off on Prime. Saints took the game to the visitors and Aribo forced a great save from Jorgensen before the lino’s flag went up. Chelsea’s first attack ended when Lumley collected across from the right.

Felix then found Palmer but Wood stopped him at the cost of a corner. Enzo put it to the near post and Lumley could not get past Cucurella before Disasi headed home from close range. Lumley looked for a foul but VAR saw none. 0-1 already!

Saints responded promptly with KWP driving down the left. He played a one-two with AA and brushed off Enzo before crossing for Aribo to smash home. 11m in and 1-1.

Saints continued to pass through and around Chelsea without creating another good chance but on 17m our usual problem resurfaced. With the ball safely at his feet and outside his area Joe Lumley was under no immediate threat until he decided to pass to KWP who wasn’t asking for the ball. As it arrived Madueke was all over him like a Chav barging through the queue at McDonald’s and whipped the ball away and set up Nkunku for the easiest goal of his career. He rolled it into the open goal from 20 metres and we were behind again. FFS!

Maresca had warned his players we would compete and we did. We pressed forward and won a corner which they cleared and there followed an end-to-end contest of who’d score next. Chelsea are the best footballing side to watch and score plenty. Whenever they won the ball they got at us at pace and kept our defence honest. Lumley made saves from Palmer (twice) and watched Felix’s header sail wide. Wood and Cap’n Jack both won individual tussles before Aribo upended Palmer who, surprisingly, did not take the FK. Instead, Enzo drove it against our wall and we cleared it.

Saints got Archer into a shooting position but Disasi blocked his effort before, on 34m, Chelsea drove forward. Palmer and Enzo carried the ball upfield before going wide left to Felix. The Portuguese hit a crossfield diagonal to Madueke who ran at Manning. You should always show Madueke down the line to cross with his swinger but he managed to cut back into a shooting position and smashed it beyond Lumley. 1-3. Humph!

Saints went again and Archer won a corner from our left. As players jostled in the Chelsea box, Cucarella suddenly went down as though The Jackal had shot him. Replays showed Stephens had pulled the twat’s hair. FFS! What a brain-dead thing to do when officials are itching to punish you! Of course, VAR would recommend Tony Harrington take a look and of course, he’d return waving the red card.

I honestly hope I never see Jack Stephens turn out for SFC again. Once was bad enough but leaving his side in the lurch twice before Xmas is just not on. The lad Wood did enough on his debut to suggest he’d be less of an accident sure to happen than our so-called Captain. Not anymore, please!

I guess our team is hardening to conceding. Earlier in the Season we’d fold, but now we get back on the proverbial horse and keep going. We continued to trade attacks with CFC for the remainder of the half. Their attacks felt more threatening TBF and ours usually ended with the final ball never arriving.

Cucarella was booed every time he had the ball but laughed at for a foul throw in added time. Chelsea stepped it up and we can thank Enzo for getting in the way of Caicedo’s powerful shot before Madueke was thwarted when his effort deflected for a corner.

We’d looked fairly solid as a 4-4-1 with Bree now alongside Wood in the centre and them coping reasonably. Fraser and AA (presumably now captain) provided midfield width and Archer was alone up top.

Early in the second half, Palmer played a super cross to Felix coming in from the left, but his header was way off target. AA was then booked for “taking one for the team” as Felix waltzed by him. Then Palmer raced onto a forward pass but Lumley got there first but the flag went up.

Chelsea then won a corner. The ball was cleared to Tosin whose shot hit the post and we were glad to see Palmer stick the rebound wide. The eleven men were tightening the screw and our job was now damage limitation. Manning was marshalling the defence and produced a sublime block when Palmer played in Madueke who looked sure to score.

Saints had the occasional foray forward and their slick passing carried them far enough for Mateus to force a save from Jorgensen. Bree stepped out to break up the next Chelsea move, conceding a corner but there was then a hold-up as the Ref was rewired for sound. Saints used this opportunity to make changes replacing AA and Fraser with BBD and Sully.

Enzo’s corner was cleared and Saints launched another attack but the keeper came to collect Mateus’ cross. Cucurella then set up a chance for Madueke but Lumley pulled off a great save. Back came Saints with another great move but, as often happens, no end product. Meanwhile, our makeshift defence was holding the EPL’s most potent attack and Chelsea were maybe beginning to think about Spurs next Sunday.

They decided attack was the best form of defence and by 70m were camped in our half letting the ball do their movement. Ours were visibly tiring. On 72m we brought Sugawara on for Archer, shoved Sully up top and moved Manning into midfield. They replaced Madueke with another England winger, Jadon Sancho.

Saints’ next attack was halted by the offside flag before play was held up when a loony ran onto the pitch. Moments later the dam burst. Nkunku brought the ball forward but was challenged by Manning. The ball came off one of them, past Lumley, and Palmer arrived to help it over the line. 1-4. Jammy bastards!

Both sides made 2 more changes, Edwards and Taylor for Bree and Mateus and Dewsbury Hall and Veiga for Palmer and fan favourite Cucurella. We were just getting fresh legs and they were getting their stars off.

Chelsea just kept the ball for the next few minutes and we rarely got a touch. Thinking they were settling for 4 we may have relaxed a little but were slow to react to Gusto picking up pace. He suddenly sent the ball between our defenders where Sancho ran onto it, beating Lumley at his near post. It was his first goal for Chelsea and finished the scoring at 1-5. To be fair, without some heroics in our defence, it might have been more.

During +6m Gusto fancied one himself, hitting the post before being flagged offside. The next time Saints got the ball they kept it and Chelsea were no longer interested in chasing after it. Final score - Saints 1 CFC 5. Cheers Jack!

Chelsea would probably have won that game anyway but the teams at the top of the table, especially Liverpool who had to fight us for the points, won’t thank Jack for gift-wrapping another win for CFC. They are so far above us in the food chain that it is absurd we are in the same league.

Perhaps it is time to rethink the structure of English football. The top sides want to play more games in Europe and Club World Cups but cannot do so with so many teams in the Premier League. I feel a cull coming.

Man Of The Match

We fought bravely but the difference in class was apparent before the red card made it obvious. I thought most of our players tried and, as usual, those at the back were generally better than the forwards.

Mateus and Joe were the better of our front 5 but I thought Bree, Wood and particularly Manning really stood up to be counted. They saved the club from another 8 or 9 goal drubbing.

I didn’t see who took the armband when AA went off but it seemed that Manning was in charge for much of the match. He didn’t impress me last season but he does now. He’s facing the best forwards week in, week out and seems to have risen to the challenge. He is routinely also our best crosser from the left flank and Ryan Manning is my choice as Man of the Match.