Chelsea the pass masters
AFTER watching Alvaro Morata finish off a flowing 31-pass move to cap a crushing win, Maurizio Sarri said: “This is my football.”
Chelsea may have sported a new ocean blue kit but the Italian’s attacking style is already becoming devastatingly familiar.
As well as the luminous orange socks, Eden Hazard added his usual colour with his ninth goal in nine games.
And Ross Barkley lit up St Mary’s with an assist and his first goal for the Blues.
But the piece de resistance of their 11th consecutive unbeaten game – and the latest example of Sarri-ball – came in injury-time with the game won.
The most passes before any goal in the Premier League this season ended with Hazard slipping the ball through for Morata to score his second goal of the week.
“Is this how I want my team to play? Something like this,” said Sarri.
“We moved the ball very quickly – one touch, maximum two touches – and we arrived at the goal so easily. It’s my football. It was my favourite goal and I can see my football in this.”
Sarri was not totally happy with the performance – “We could do better,” he said – but he was pleased with another Morata strike before the international break. “It is always very important for the striker to score,” he said. “He can restart easily now.” Yesterday Chelsea had 86 per cent possession in the opening 15 minutes. When they did get the ball Southampton looked dangerous and Danny Ings volleyed over a Ryan Bertrand cross when wellplaced. It was to prove a psychologically damaging miss as four minutes later Chelsea took the lead. Barkley dispossessed PierreEmile Hojbjerg in the Saints half and released Hazard to score with his usual deadly precision. Mark Hughes could have swapped a number of players at the break. The Saints manager complained about Chelsea blocking for Willian’s 57th-minute free-kick, when Olivier Giroud athletically volleyed across goal for Barkley to bundle home. Kepa Arrizabalaga then kept out stinging shots from Nathan Redmond and Ings to ensure Chelsea have still only conceded one away goal this season. At fulltime – before the late game had kicked off – Chelsea were top, but Sarri insisted: “Manchester City and Liverpool are a step forward of us.
Chelsea now split them in second place and Hazard said: “It’s too early to be thinking about the title, but it’s good to be up there.”
Hughes admitted: “It was a typical afternoon for us. It didn’t start with the intensity we wanted. Too passive. We allowed them to be comfortable in possession.
“If we score first it might have been a different game. But we conceded first and that plays into Chelsea’s hands. They set the trap and we fell into it.
“Maybe last year Chelsea didn’t have that devilment that’s in their play at the moment. It’s very difficult to contain but I expect us to be better than we were.”