Chelsea suffered their second defeat of the season after Southampton came out with a 2-1 win at St. Mary’s Stadium in the English Premier League. Raheem Sterling gave Thomas Tuchel’s men the lead in the 23rd minute. Southampton made a comeback in the first half and went 2-1 up. The second half went goalless, and Chelsea now have three points from three away games.
We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including;
* shot maps
* xT (expected threat)
* pass networks
* xG timelines
* defensive duels
* average positions and much more!
We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;
How many recoveries were made in the middle third by Southampton? What were the attacking zones for Chelsea?
To navigate the stats gallery, simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.
Southampton started the match in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Che Adams again leading the line for the Saints. James Ward-Prowse played the number ten role. The Saints played in a 4-4-2 formation for the last ten minutes of the match.
Chelsea once again played with two strikers. Kai Havertz accompanied goalscorer Raheem Sterling. Thomas Tuchel’s side shifted to a back three and played in a 3-5-2 formation.
The home team ended the match with a possession rate of 32.78%. They began the match with more possession but lost hold of the ball in the middle of the first half. They had less possession after taking the lead.
Chelsea had more possession of the ball. They gained momentum at the start of the match and had more than 60% ball possession when they conceded two goals.
The home team attempted 30 positional attacks and attempted six shots from those attacks. Most of the attacks came from the centre of the park.
Chelsea players created 31 attacks and attempted five shots from these attacks. Almost 50% of the attacks came from the left side.
Southampton players attempted nine shots in the match with a 66.7% shot accuracy rate. Three of their shots were blocked by Chelsea players, but the rest were on target.
Chelsea players attempted four shots with a 50% shot accuracy rate. They attempted four shots each in both halves.
The Saints ended the match with an xG rate of 1.32. They attempted three shots from inside the penalty box and two from the edge of the box.
Chelsea ended the match with an xG rate of 1.1. They attempted five shots from inside the box, of which four were on target.
Southampton players attempted 249 passes with a 70.28% passing accuracy rate. It can be observed that the three midfielders played a lot closer to each other. Kyle Walker-Peters and Ward-Prowse split 12 passes between them.
Chelsea players attempted 547 passes with an 83.73% passing accuracy rate. Most of their passing was done on the left side. Sterling operated from the centre, while Mason Mount and Havertz were the creative forces from the left side.
The Saints tried 40 passes to the final third and were successful 28 times. Once again, Gavin Bazunu tried to find Adams, doing that on eight occasions, from goal-kicks or long passes.
The Blues tried 71 passes to the final third and were successful 51 times. Kalidou Koulibaly was the main supplier of these passes. The centre-back spread the ball to both wings, and that allowed the players to run towards the opposition’s defence.
Both teams contested 246 duels, and the Saints won 119 of them. They contested 77 defensive duels and won 46. Most of the wins came on the wings.
The Blues won 116 duels, and this included 46 defensive duels. The above viz shows that Chelsea contested most of the defensive duels on the left side and had a high win percentage.
Aerially, the Saints won 21 duels, with most of the wins coming inside their penalty box. Mohammed Salisu and Armel Bella-Kotchap showed aerial dominance inside their box and cleared the ball easily.
The visitors won 19 aerial duels, with the highest wins coming at the top of the defensive third. They were poor inside both the boxes and lost most of their duels.
The match saw Southampton making 60 interceptions, with most of them coming inside the penalty box.
Chelsea players also had to be intercepted 55 times, with Thiago Silva behind 14 of them.
Southampton players recovered the ball 101 times, with 50% of recoveries coming in the defensive third. Bella-Kotchap and Salisu made a combined 35 recoveries.
The Blues recovered the ball 108 times, with 42 coming in the middle third and 16 in the final third. The defenders made the most recoveries for Chelsea.
Chelsea have failed to find their attacking rhythm this season. Their defence has also leaked a lot of goals. They were dominated by the Saints, who looked more hungry for points. Southampton players defended their lead by winning duels and making interceptions. Thomas Tuchel and Co. need to win their next match if they want to remain in the title hunt.
Visuals via Wyscout