Chelsea Blanks Saints, Remains Tied at the Top
There's nothing like a weekend getaway on England's South Coast.
However, the club from oh-so-toni Chelsea was more focused on invading St Mary's Stadium and grabbing three points.
Which they did, to the tune of a 0-3 drubbing of Southampton.
As this is the first go-round for Maurizio Sarri in the Premiership, the expectation was the 2018-2019 season would suffice as his shakedown cruise. However, after a 6-2-0 start, it's beginning to show signs of becoming much more.
It took about a half-hour for the show to really get on the road. Ironically, that's also about the same time the Saints started to settle into the match. Bummer for them.
Ross Barkley has rocketed under Sarri from an afterthought last season to a growing force for the Blues. He'd the dude who lit the switch right about then, stealing the ball from Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and sending it to Eden Hazard.
The Belgian star only had to choose which side and shoot:
The Blues seem to be understanding Sarri's rapid-movement tactics more and more each week, but lulls do occur. That was the story for the balance of the half.
Things changed after intermission, though, but it was because the Saints were pressing the action. Still, Chelsea continued to force them away from a direct attack, for which the Saints had no answer.
Interestingly enough, as in the first half, the action began happening right around a half-hour after play resumed.
As in the 57th minute.
After a free kick from Willian, Olivier Giroud struck a spectacularly acrobatic volley to provide a superb pass to Barkley. Dude then proceeded to score his first goal since May 2017:
Even though Southampton kept at it, with Danny Ings and Nathan Redmond leading the way, Kepa was up to the task between the posts on every occasion.
While the result's writing was on the wall from that point onward, Chelsea saved the best for a bitta French pastry in time added on.
The Blues staged a passing clinic. It was a case study in Sarri-style possession. Ultimately, Hazard did what he does best, which is deliver a perfect pass to put Álvaro Morata up close and personal with Saints 'keeper Alex McCarthy.
Money:
Southampton's gotta get a move on, as they're hovering perilously close to the danger zone. It may only be October, but there's no time like the present to pick up the pace.
Chelsea, meanwhile, is definitely trending and looking better by the week. With Barkley thriving under Sarri, the next question is whether Rufus Loftus-Cheek will soon follow. If so, perhaps the Blues will become a showcase for young English talent again.