Sports

Southampton snatch draw at Chelsea in six-goal thriller

Published

4 years ago

October 17, 2020

Chelsea paid the price for woeful defending as Jannik Vestergaard snatched a stoppage-time equaliser for Southampton in their dramatic 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Germany forward Timo Werner scored his first Premier League goals to put Chelsea two up in the first half.

But Danny Ings got one back for Southampton before mistakes from Kurt Zouma and Kepa Arrizabalaga gifted an equaliser to Che Adams in the second half.

Kai Havertz appeared to have spared his team-mates’ blushes when the Germany midfielder restored Chelsea’s lead.

But Frank Lampard’s side were denied when Southampton defender Vestergaard headed home in the closing moments.

Chelsea have just two wins from five league games and have already conceded nine goals.

Lampard will be encouraged to see Werner score for the first time in the league in his fifth appearance in the competition since his £45 million ($58 million) move from Leipzig.

The 24-year-old, who scored against Tottenham in the League Cup in September, was a constant threat to Southampton’s defence.

Havertz was at fault for Southampton’s first goal but recovered his composure to deliver the most promising display since his £70 million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.

There was also the welcome sight of Hakim Ziyech making his Chelsea debut in a 19-minute substitute cameo after recovering from the knee injury that delayed his involvement following his move from Ajax.

But, as ever with Chelsea, the miscues from Zouma and Kepa underlined problems that remain unsolved at the back and could prove fatal to their chances of mounting a title challenge.

With Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy injured, Kepa was making his first Chelsea appearance in almost a month after being dropped following an error-strewn start to the season, but his latest blunder is likely to see him exiled again.

Zouma may find himself axed as well once Thiago Silva is ready to return.