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Michael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond struck to deepen Chelsea\u2019s Stamford Bridge woes as Southampton claimed a fine Premier League win in west London.<\/p>\nMichael Obafemi and Nathan Redmond struck to deepen Chelsea\u2019s Stamford Bridge woes as Southampton claimed a fine Premier League win in west London.<\/p>\n
Ralph Hasenhuttl\u2019s Saints battled their way to a fourth league victory in six matches, and their second win on the spin away from home.<\/p>\n
The wretched home form of Frank Lampard\u2019s men took another turn for the worse, with the Blues sinking to a sixth loss in 15 Stamford Bridge matches in all competitions this term.<\/p>\n
Chelsea also suffered consecutive home Premier League defeats for the first time since 2011, when the Stamford Bridge men endured successive losses to Arsenal and Liverpool.<\/p>\n
Lampard\u2019s Blues remained fourth in the table despite their defeat, with Sunday\u2019s 2-0 win at Tottenham keeping their north London rivals down in fifth.<\/p>\n
Obafemi and Redmond took their goals well but two smart finishes would in no way mask Chelsea\u2019s shortcomings on home soil.<\/p>\n
Lampard had challenged his players to show more \u201cballs\u201d in the wake of their 1-0 home loss to Bournemouth on December 14, and the riposte from his squad was that fine derby victory at Spurs.<\/p>\n
The Blues\u2019 home struggles continued unabated here however, with Lampard initially sticking to the 3-4-3 formation that so flummoxed Tottenham \u2013 but eventually abandoning that at half-time.<\/p>\n
Southampton in contrast were left to toast a another win to cement an impressive return to form for Hasenhuttl\u2019s relegation scrappers.<\/p>\n
Ryan Bertrand\u2019s booking for time wasting less than half an hour into the contest underscored Saints\u2019 entire strategy to scrap for the the ball.<\/p>\n
Obafemi was put through on goal by his captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and seized on the space afforded by the tentative Fikayo Tomori to curl a smart finish past a helpless Kepa Arrizabalaga.<\/p>\n
Callum Hudson-Odoi lost the ball cheaply to allow Hojbjerg the time to thread Obafemi into space.<\/p>\n
And just when Chelsea would have expected to start squeezing the contest in their favor, the hosts lost any grip on proceedings instead.<\/p>\n
Lampard ditched the 3-4-3 formation at half-time, determined to jolt his sluggish Blues back into attacking life.<\/p>\n
Kurt Zouma was sacrificed in the switch to 4-2-3-1, with Mason Mount thrown into battle and challenged to deliver the missing creative spark.<\/p>\n
Mount had impressed in an astute and assured performance in Sunday\u2019s 2-0 win at Spurs, and was straight into the action again on Boxing Day.<\/p>\n
No sooner had the half started than Mount slid a smart ball through for Tammy Abraham, who spun into the inside right channel and left his markers for dead.<\/p>\n
The England hitman lashed goalwards, only to see the ball flash past the wrong side of the post.<\/p>\n
Saints continued to threaten on the break however, with Redmond tormenting Antonio Rudiger before Tomori produced a desperate sliding clearance to thwart the lurking Che Adams.<\/p>\n
Redmond should have doubled Saints\u2019 lead when played clean through, but the former Norwich and Birmingham man could only poke tamely at Kepa\u2019s legs.<\/p>\n
The disappointing Hudson-Odoi was hooked in favor of Christian Pulisic for the last quarter, with Lampard acutely aware of Chelsea\u2019s poor home form.<\/p>\n
Redmond did eventually prod home, when N\u2019Golo Kante unwittingly sent the perfect ball into his path. The pacy forward diverted that loose pass beyond a stranded Kepa, and in doing so sealed a win to warm Saints hearts and put a chill into Chelsea chests.<\/p>\n