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Adam Armstrong scored his first Premier League goal since November last yearSouthampton came from behind to earn their second win of the fledgling Premier League season and move above a Chelsea side lacking cohesion and a cutting edge at St Mary's.
Raheem Sterling is the Blues' top scorer and got Thomas Tuchel's side off to a promising start with his third goal in two games thanks to a calm swivel and finish in the 23rd minute.
But another former Manchester City player levelled moments later, with Romeo Lavia firing a superb effort beyond Edouard Mendy after Chelsea failed to properly clear a corner.
From then on Southampton were the better side and scored what proved to be the winner before the break, when Romain Perraud picked out Adam Armstrong and his effort deflected off Kalidou Koulibaly and into the net.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's outfit climb to seventh as a result of the deserved victory, level on seven points with Chelsea but above them on goals scored.
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Saints' summer signings prove a hit
Southampton are so often a breeding ground for young players looking for a break in the top flight and appear to have recruited another gem in Lavia, who spent two years at City after leaving Anderlecht, before joining the Saints this summer.
The midfielder and 20-year-old German defender Armel Bella-Kotchap, another shrewd acquisition, provided the foundations for an impressive Southampton performance that earned them a first win over Chelsea in three years and first at St Mary's since March 2013.
Chelsea had been the better side early on and capitalised through Sterling, but a slight mix up saw Cesar Azpilicueta put the ball behind for a corner and it was only cleared as far as Lavia - the 18-year-old Belgian took a touch before rifling a strike past Mendy from the edge of the area.
The hosts were outdone in terms of possession in the first half but looked far more efficient with the ball after Lavia's leveller and a swift move led to Armstrong putting them ahead in added time from Perraud's cutback.
That Lavia - the first player born in 2004 to score a Premier League goal - had to be replaced just before the hour mark after pulling up will be a concern for Hasenhuttl, with the youngster already proving to be an integral part of his side.
Bella-Kotchap, who made a great recovery tackle on Sterling early in the game, and Mohammed Salisu were formidable at the heart of Southampton's defence and gave Chelsea little encouragement of finding a way back.
At the other end, Marc Cucurella stopped Southampton adding to their lead with an instinctive block from Mohamed Elyounoussi's header and Thiago Silva then cleared a Salisu effort off the line as the hosts continued their encouraging start to the campaign.
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Southampton
Squad number31Player nameBazunu- Squad number2Player nameWalker-Peters
- Squad number37Player nameBella-Kotchap
- Squad number22Player nameSalisu
- Squad number15Player namePerraud
- Squad number27Player nameDiallo
- Squad number45Player nameLavia
- Squad number24Player nameElyounoussi
Squad number8Player nameWard-Prowse- Squad number9Player nameA Armstrong
- Squad number10Player nameAdams
- Squad number4Player nameLyanco
- Squad number7Player nameAribo
- Squad number19Player nameDjenepo
Chelsea
Squad number16Player nameMendy
Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta
Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
Squad number26Player nameKoulibaly
Squad number32Player nameCucurella
Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek
Squad number5Player nameJorginho
Squad number19Player nameMount
Squad number22Player nameZiyech
Squad number17Player nameSterling
Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Squad number10Player namePulisic
Squad number18Player nameBroja
Squad number21Player nameChilwell
Line-ups
Southampton
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 31Bazunu
- 2Walker-Peters
- 37Bella-Kotchap
- 22SalisuBooked at 53mins
- 15PerraudSubstituted forDjenepoat 73'minutes
- 27Diallo
- 45LaviaSubstituted forAriboat 60'minutes
- 24Elyounoussi
- 8Ward-ProwseBooked at 64mins
- 9A ArmstrongSubstituted forLyancoat 86'minutes
- 10Adams
Substitutes
- 1McCarthy
- 4Lyanco
- 7Aribo
- 17S Armstrong
- 18Mara
- 19Djenepo
- 32Walcott
- 35Bednarek
- 43Valery
Chelsea
Formation 4-3-3
- 16Mendy
- 28AzpilicuetaSubstituted forBrojaat 66'minutes
- 6Thiago Silva
- 26Koulibaly
- 32Cucurella
- 12Loftus-CheekSubstituted forKovacicat 45'minutes
- 5JorginhoSubstituted forChilwellat 67'minutes
- 19Mount
- 22Ziyech
- 17Sterling
- 29HavertzSubstituted forPulisicat 66'minutesBooked at 80mins
Substitutes
- 1Arrizabalaga
- 8Kovacic
- 10Pulisic
- 18Broja
- 21Chilwell
- 30Chukwuemeka
- 35Gilmour
- 39Vale
- 44Ampadu
Live Text
Match ends, Southampton 2, Chelsea 1.
Second Half ends, Southampton 2, Chelsea 1.
Marc Cucurella (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by James Ward-Prowse (Southampton).
Attempt blocked. Mason Mount (Chelsea) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Kyle Walker-Peters.
Foul by Ben Chilwell (Chelsea).
Che Adams (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Moussa Djenepo (Southampton).
Foul by Christian Pulisic (Chelsea).
Moussa Djenepo (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Lyanco (Southampton).
Substitution, Southampton. Lyanco replaces Adam Armstrong.
Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Gavin Bazunu.
Attempt saved. Armando Broja (Chelsea) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Raheem Sterling with a cross.
Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Christian Pulisic (Chelsea).
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