Chelsea thump hapless Southampton to revitalise Champions League hopes

The victory brings Chelsea's tally to 46 points, two ahead of Manchester City and Newcastle United, who both face tough matches against Tottenham Hotspur and league leaders Liverpool, respectively, on Wednesday.

Southampton's 22nd loss of the season leaves them 13 points adrift of safety, while Chelsea's win keeps their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League alive.

With Nicolas Jackson sidelined due to injury, Chelsea has struggled to find the net, relying on both defenders and forwards to chip in with goals.

From the outset, Chelsea took charge of the game. Just a minute after Aaron Ramsdale blocked a Cole Palmer shot with his feet, Christopher Nkunku poked the ball in at the back post following a corner and a header from defender Tosin Adarabioyo.

Nkunku then turned provider, slipping a well-timed pass to Chelsea's Portuguese winger, Pedro Neto, who smashed a powerful left-foot shot past Ramsdale and into the near post.

Central defender Levi Colwill added a third just before halftime, heading down a Neto free kick, and in the 78th minute, Spain wing-back Marc Cucurella finished a precise pass from 19-year-old substitute Tyrique George to seal the win.

This victory came after Chelsea had suffered four losses in their last five matches, dropping them to seventh place.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca shared his relief after the match, telling TNT, "We all needed that. We were in a bad run in terms of results. The club needed that. We are happy."

Despite the convincing result, one sour note for Chelsea was the continued poor form of their key player, Palmer, who once again failed to capitalize on several good opportunities, extending his goal drought to seven games.

However, Maresca remained supportive, emphasizing that Palmer would overcome this challenging period. "We are all former players. All of us went through some bad moments. You cannot expect Palmer to be like he was last season or like he was earlier this season. It's normal. He is human," Maresca explained.

"It's about how you react. Keep working, keep laughing, keep calm, be happy and enjoy the football. That's all you can do," the manager added.

Maresca also gave brief appearances to debutants 17-year-old Shim Mheuka and 19-year-old French midfielder Mathis Amougou.

"Probably, there were too many young players at the end," Maresca admitted. "The Chelsea academy has always been strong. We already have many players like Levi Colwill, and hopefully, in the future, we'll have even more."

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