Chelsea were left frustrated at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night as they began 2019 with a draw against Southampton.
The Blues started brightly with a couple of attempts in the first twenty minutes. Yet the first half remained quiet and goalless the entire way through. The only event of note would be the substitution of Willian after only 37 minutes due to injury, being replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Sarri reported after the game that the injury to the Brazilian was not serious yet he could not continue at the Bridge.
In the second half, a sharp Eden Hazard shot from the left was saved by Angus Gunn on his Premier League debut which gave both sets of fans something to be excited about. In the 68th minute Ross Barkley was replaced by Cesc Fabregas in an attempt to add more creative flair to Chelsea’s performance.
Morata later thought he had given Chelsea the lead only for it to be ruled out for offside in a correct decision by the assistant referee. Rudiger and Romeu were shown yellow cards later in the game as both sides sought a later winner.
A late shot by Marcos Alonso came close to giving his side the lead and a Kante penalty claim was waved away but the game eventually petered out into a draw.
Alvaro Morata continues to show why Italy is beckoning
It has been a struggle of Chelsea ever since Didier Drogba left for the first time in 2012, with the exception of Diego Costa, to find a striker that can consistently hit that 20/25 goals a season mark. Bought for £70m in 2017 Morata has not scored since early November and no Chelsea striker at all scored in December.
The Blues are lucky that they have such quality on the rest of the pitch but just think of what they could do with a reliable and quality striker. Morata does have it in him as he has scored fantastic goals throughout his career, but for some reason, it is not working in West London. Perhaps he simply does not fit into Sarri’s system, but if there is truth to the rumored Morata/Higuain swap then I think it makes sense for all parties.
With Giroud happy to be a bit part player and a useful impact sub, then Higuain is all set to come into Chelsea and be a huge success.
Gunn impresses on Premier League debut
It was a big risk starting with a 22-year-old goalkeeper away at a side with a fierce attacking lineup, but Southampton did that nonetheless and were rewarded with a strong performance from the England U21 international. Since his £13.5 million move from Manchester City in the summer there has been excitement over him, even Gareth Southgate took note of this bringing him into the England World Cup training squad in the summer.
Whilst England seem to have found a consistent number one in Jordan Pickford there is no reason why a string of strong Southampton performances would not put Gunn up there as Pickford’s main challenger. He was strong down low on Wednesday saving well from Eden Hazard, something not every goalkeeper has managed. It bodes well for Southampton and hopefully if he comes good they can keep hold of him for a long time to come.
Do Southampton have enough to stay up?
For younger Premier League fans, the idea of Southampton playing their football outside the top division is something that may appear quite alien, however it is a distinct possibility for next season. A team that has given so many quality players to the league: Wanyama, Sane, Lallana, Clyne, Van Dijk, Rickie Lambert, Jack Cork, all have been part of Southampton’s Premier League success.
However, now it appears that their time may be up. Hasenhuttel has been successful since he took over, apart from the loss to West Ham, and is a proven success after performing so well with Leipzig over in Germany. Yet is having a good manager enough if the players just aren’t up to it? Newcastle would argue it is, having arguably been kept up purely by the managerial skills of Rafa Benitez over the past few years, but Southampton will not want to take the risk. 21 goals after 21 games is simply not enough to stay in the league and conceding 38 in 21 games is too many: to stay up in an increasingly competitive league Southampton will definitely need to up their game.
Chelsea still lacking that cutting edge
It seems to be the same every time I write about a Chelsea game, they create and create and create but there is no-one up front who is deathly clinical and finishes every chance they get. Drogba and Costa used to be those players but also used to physically bully defenders, not giving them a moment’s rest. Morata and Giroud are simply not these kinds of players and never will be.
The Pulisic signing is a good one and should excite Chelsea fans, but they need something else in this January window and they need it now. Chelsea should be looking at Carabao Cup and Europa League success this season as well as finishing in the Champions League places at the end of the season, but they won’t get there without someone up front consistently scoring. As stated earlier I do believe that Higuain would be a fantastic stopgap but they need someone else. With Batshuayi not being recalled and Tammy Abraham seemingly on his way to Wolves maybe its time for Chelsea to put up the cash and sign a star.
Could Hudson-Odoi be the answer to Chelsea’s up and down season?
Eden Hazard is without doubt the shining creative light of Chelsea’s team, as he would be in most teams around the globe, but there is a young Englishman sat on the bench who has that ability within him. Hudson-Odoi has been praised by just about every journalist who writes about Chelsea but yet Sarri seems unwilling to give him a run in the team. Why? Granted he has had a hamstring injury, but the fans want him, the press want him, and it’s fairly safe to say that the England hierarchy surely want his career to progress; whether it’s at Chelsea or potentially in Germany if rumors are to be believed.
The prospect of Chelsea with a new striker, potentially Higuain, playing up front with Hazard on one wing and Hudson-Odoi, under the mentorship of the Belgian, on the other is something frightening. It would be a fullback’s nightmare as both have lightning pace and even faster feet, but for some reason, Willian continually gets the nod over the young Englishman.
The Brazilian has been good in the past but both him and Pedro are on the other side of their peak and need replacing at some point in the near future. Chelsea have a ready-made replacement but it appears, as they did with De Bruyne, Salah, and Lukaku, that they may let him go just too soon.
Man of the Match – Angus Gunn
Well, my initial thought was to give Man of the Match to me, for managing to find five topics to discuss in this drab game, but as it was clean sheets all around the MOTM has to go to Angus Gunn on his Premier League debut. He looked unphased and confident, something that bodes well for Southampton’s future, I look forward to seeing the rest of his career progress.
