The hosts had 72% of possession but could not find their way through a well-organised and disciplined Saints side as it ended goallessly. Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri hinted at the need for a new striker after his side failed to break down a resolute Southampton team at Stamford Bridge.
“I think we played a very good match for 80 metres of the pitch, then we were in trouble in the last 20 metres,” said Sarri, who has Alvaro Morata as his only recognised striker with Olivier Giroud out with an ankle injury.
“We have to try to solve the problem of the last 15, 20 metres. The club knows very well my opinion. I think we need something different for characteristics. “I’m not in charge of the market. I have to try to improve my players, my team, my offensive phase, or better my offensive phase in the last 20 metres.
“The club knows my position, my opinion. It’s up to the board.” Sarri, who dismissed the prospect of recalling strikers Michy Batshuayi and Tammy Abraham from loan spells at Valencia and Aston Villa respectively, watched his side fail to score for the second successive home league game.
For Southampton, they kept their first clean sheet in 11 Premier League games, but still dropped into the bottom three as they fall below Burnley into 18th after the Clarets’ 2-1 win at Huddersfield.
Chelsea’s best chance fell to Eden Hazard, but his well-hit shot was saved by Premier League debutant Angus Gunn. Morata thought he had scored when he put the ball into the net midway through the second half, but it was ruled out as he was given offside.
Southampton offered little as an attacking force, with one Oriol Romeu shot easily saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga. The hosts wanted a late penalty as Marcos Alonso went to ground under a challenge from Shane Long, but referee Jonathan Moss was not interested in Chelsea’s appeals.
Willian injury on a frustrating night for Chelsea
Before the game, Sarri said the club “was in trouble” because of their injury problems and the fact they would have to play “every three days” in January.
Those problems worsened in the first half as Willian, following a strong challenge from Maya Yoshida, limped off to be replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek, himself only just returning to contention after a back injury.
It means the Brazilian joins Giroud (ankle), Pedro (hamstring) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (hamstring) as attacking options that are unavailable for the Blues, who could play as many as eight games this month.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chelsea announced they have signed 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund forward Christian Pulisic for 64m euros (£58m), although he will also not feature for the Blues in 2018-19 as he will be loaned back to the German club until the end of the season.
This performance shows why Sarri has opted to strengthen his squad as once again Morata failed to impress up front with the Spaniard failing to score for the seventh consecutive Premier League game.
He had a weak header easily saved after Cesar Azpilicueta’s long ball forward and looked to have ended his goalless run but was denied by the assistant referee’s flag as he was judged offside.
The draw means Chelsea are now 10 points behind leaders Liverpool, who play their game in hand, away at Manchester City, on Thursday.
Hasenhuttl tightens up Saints’ defence
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl opted to make eight changes to the side that began the 3-1 loss against Manchester City on Sunday, including a Premier League debut for 22-year-old goalkeeper Gunn, son of ex-Norwich goalkeeper Bryan.
Gunn did well to quickly come off his line and clear the danger on a couple of times in the first half and also denied Hazard, with the Belgian’s powerful shot hitting him in the face.
Hasenhuttl had organised his team well and they proved hard to break down with a back five and at times five midfielders in front of them with Danny Ings and then his replacement Shane Long, sometimes operating as their lone striker, but often dropping back to help their team-mates further.
The tactics worked as the hosts could only manage two shots on target in the first half – Hazard’s effort saved by Gunn and Morata’s weak header.
Gunn, who cost the Saints £10m in a summer move from Manchester City, was busier in the second half as he parried a Hazard effort, caught a rising Jorginho shot, held on to a Morata strike and denied Alonso in stoppage time.
The final whistle saw Hasenhuttl punch the air in celebration as his side picked up their seventh point in his six games in charge – including matches against three of the top five – Arsenal, Manchester City and now Chelsea.
It was also only the fifth time Southampton had stopped the opposition from scoring in 21 Premier League matches in 2018-19 and was their first clean sheet since 27 October when they drew 0-0 at home with Newcastle.
Man of the match – Angus Gunn (Southampton)
‘We deserved a point’ – what they said
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri told BBC Sport: “We had four or five goal opportunities but sometimes if you want to have a lot of opportunities you have to score the first goal.
“We did not move the ball very well and we need to improve. We were playing without important players like Pedro, Willian after 30 minutes, Callum Hudson-Odoi was out. On the bench I only had one offensive player Loftus (Ruben Loftus-Cheek) and he is not very well at the moment with back trouble.”
On the signing of Christian Pulisic, Sarri added: “I didn’t know anything about Christian Pulisic yesterday. The club asked my opinion about him one month ago and my opinion was positive and I knew the deal was done but I didn’t know anything. I’m not in charge of the market.
“We have to play every three days so I cannot think of next year, I have to think about the next match.”
Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl told BBC Sport: “I think it was very hard work against the ball. The guys were brave, sometimes pressing high, sometimes deeper. We didn’t give so many chances away, they have fantastic quality and to defend every attack is not easy, but with our mentality, we deserved a point.
“In the last 30 minutes you feel tired, we had to close the gaps and if you have guy like Eden Hazard dribbling at you, you need a lot of players near him to stop him.
“We made the right decision to change so many players against Manchester City to keep them fresh for today. I don’t want to say we gave the Manchester City game away but we had more chances today. It was an amazing fight we gave.”
On goalkeeper Gunn, who kept a clean sheet on his debut, Hasenhuttl added: “The guy showed he is a very forward defensive goalkeeper. We knew about Chelsea’s chipped balls forward and we told him to be brave. He made some good saves and I’m happy with him.”
Another home blank for Chelsea – the stats
- Southampton have only won four of their 20 visits to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League (drew six, lost 11), most recently a 3-1 win over Jose Mourinho’s Blues in October 2015.
- Chelsea have failed to score in three of their last five Premier League games at Stamford Bridge, as many as in their previous 22 in the competition.
- Southampton have drawn nine Premier League games by a 0-0 scoreline since the start of last season; two more than any other side.
- Southampton have recorded their first Premier League clean sheet since October, conceding 24 goals in their previous 10 before today.
- At 22 years and 346 days, Southampton’s Gunn is the youngest English goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet on his Premier League debut since Ben Amos for Manchester United against Stoke in January 2012 (21 years, 295 days).
- Gunn (one) has recorded more Premier League clean sheets at Stamford Bridge than his father Bryan did (none in three attempts).
- Morata has recorded 1.9 offsides per game this season, the most of any player to have played at least 90 minutes.
- Cesc Fabregas’ appearance for Chelsea vs Southampton is his 500th for English club sides in all competitions.
What’s next?
Chelsea entertain Championship side Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, 5 January (15:00 GMT) and then face Tottenham away from home in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday, 8 January, before returning to league action on Saturday, 12 January when they play Newcastle.
Southampton play in the FA Cup at Derby on Saturday (15:00 GMT), before another trip to the East Midlands to face Leicester in the Premier League a week later.
Source: BBC News
