Match date: 15 March 2015

Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint Germain in their midweek fixture, with Mourinho and his side coming under criticism because of their slow, rhythm-less play during that match. Southampton have remained fairly consistent throughout the year, despite losing two of their last three games.

Perhaps in an attempt to thumb his nose at the criticism his side received, Mourinho made just one change to the side that Paris Saint Germain knocked out with Willian coming in for fellow Brazilian Ramires in Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1.

Ronald Koeman, who would be hoping for at least a repeat of when these sides last met in December, made four changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace in their last outing with Tadic, Steven Davis, and Toby Alderweireld coming in, while Pelle was dropped for the first time in his Saints’ career in favour of Shane Long in Koeman’s 4-2-3-1.

Opening Half, Chelsea Struggle, Saints on Top

The opening minutes of the match were very much back and forth as both sides struggled to get control of the ball and move it into dangerous situations. As the half wore on, Chelsea went 1-0 up after Diego Costa scored a free header just inside the six yard from an Ivanovic cross. This was perhaps the best play of the half for Chelsea as Southampton began to move the ball very well as Chelsea, looking rather slow, and perhaps jaded, as the recent criticisms thrown at them looked well deserved.

Southampton attacked Chelsea down the left side of their attack with Bertrand, Tadic, and Mané getting the better of Ivanovic, Willian, and Matic. The penalty that Mané earned was because of good play down the left and at about the half hour mark, Chelsea were completely undone after a one-two by Bertrand and Tadic down the left allow the former Chelsea left back to put a dangerous cross in and leave Chelsea struggling to clear the ball. This was almost certainly by design on Koeman’s part. On the right, Clyne is an excellent attacking full back, but the Dutch manager was almost forced to play Steven Davis on the right to try to keep Hazard from having a big influence on the match, so the attacking flair and creativity on the right side was not as stated as it was through Tadic. Also, Ivanovic and Cahill have struggled over the past few months, notably against Tottenham in Chelsea’s 5-3 loss and against Paris Saint Germain, particularly in the first match of the tie.

One of Chelsea’s biggest problems in the first half, and this is true for the entire match, was the lack of influence on the match from Fabregas. For much of the season, the Spaniard has been the one that dictates the rhythm of Chelsea’s play, but Cesc has struggled since the turn of the new year and as a result, Chelsea’s play has looked slow and out of sorts, perhaps highlighted in the second leg of the Paris Saint Germain tie. Against Southampton, it was more of the same for Fabregas’ struggles. He got on the ball and completed the most passes of any player on the field, but didn’t take control the game and didn’t dictate Chelsea’s team the way you would expect of someone that got on the ball as often as he was.

You can see above that Fabregas’ forward passing was the weakest point of his play. At times, he looked to force the ball forward when easier options were on and it broke Chelsea’s attacks down. While part of Fabregas’ was certainly down to the whole of the Chelsea team as well as the Spaniard’s struggles, Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama’s performances should not be understated. The two holding midfielders were constantly putting pressure on the Chelsea ball carriers, disrupting play.

Matic v Mané

So much of Southampton’s best play came through Sadio Mané. The Senegalese international has been very good for Southampton since his arrival in the summer and against Chelsea he was their best player. He consistently looked to find space whether that was on the left when he combined well with Bertrand and Tadic throughout the first half or whether it was more centrally, between the lines as he got away from and dragged Matic around the pitch. When playing as a one behind the striker against a 4-2-3-1, it is sometimes very difficult to find space with two holding midfielders, but Mané found space in the tightest of areas and when he needed to, he drifted out wide. Below is a good example of Mané finding that space in tight areas. He is behind both Matic and Fabregas, only slightly, but enough to allow him to receive the ball and unbalance the two holding players.

When Southampton were at their best, it was because of Mané’s play. He could hold the ball up and bring others into play, making forward runs, as he did for Southampton’s play, and he was always looking to turn an create as he found space and pulled Matic out of the middle. When he was tightly marked, the Senegalese won fouls for Southampton in good areas of the pitch or when the Saints were under pressure and he was able to get out of tight spaces when Southampton were defending deep and struggling to get out.

Matic struggled against Mané throughout the match and this, along with Matic’s yellow card, forced Mourinho into replacing the Serbian with Ramires. With the Brazilian on, Mané found it a little bit harder to find space, but a lot of this was due to Chelsea growing into the game and Southampton having fewer opportunities to find Mané.

Hazard’s Freedom

When Chelsea were at their best, it was because Hazard did not stick to the left side of the attack and instead roamed around the field. Sometimes he and Oscar would switch, with the Brazilian moving out wide, but other times Hazard would overload the middle of the field and drift around the field with freedom. Hazard was Chelsea’s best player and it was because of him and their tempo and best periods were dictated by his involvement. During these times, he would drop next to Matic and Ramires to pick up the ball before carrying it forward and when Oscar stayed central with Hazard, it allowed the Belgian more freedom with Schneiderlin and Wanyama overloaded.

Above you can see how Hazard moved around the pitch and, more importantly, how he was able to break the lines of Southampton’s compact defense on the dribble. He created excellent chances for Oscar and Diego Costa, although neither were able to get past Forster. In the end, you could see a huge contrast between Chelsea’s play when Hazard drifted around the field with freedom rather than sticking to the left.

Conclusion

A fair result. Both sides controlled a half and both sides had a player that raised their team’s level. Mané and Hazard were the best players on the pitch when they found space. Despite Mourinho’s assertions that his team were not tired and jaded, the first half display by Chelsea told a completely different tale and it was only after what was probably a stern talk by Mourinho that his side looked like they were top of the table.

Koeman will be relatively pleased with his side, especially after Chelsea controlled the second half. Southampton are now six points off of Manchester United in the fourth place spot as the Champions League spots become a bit more distant.