Chelsea FC vs. Southampton: 6 Lessons Learned and Key Takeaways

Chelsea’s woes continued this weekend (03/10/2015) with a 1-3 defeat to Southampton at the Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho’s half full glass is slowly starting to empty, we are about to find out if his claim about being different this time around and striving for stability was true.

Chelsea are running out of lifeline as their title defense was dealt a huge blow, after Southampton came from behind to record a memorable victory at the Stamford Bridge.

With eight points from as many games Chelsea manager, players and fans have a lot to worry about.

Here are five key points from the game:

JOSE MOURINHO MADE WRONG DECISIONS

1.     If the decision to start Matic, the team’s best holding midfielder, and arguably the best in the EPL, on the bench is bad, bringing him on at half-time and subbing him off 27 minutes after his introduction is even worse. 

2.     Many Chelsea fans have been slating Cesc Fabrigas after a string of poor performances this season. Mourinho’s decision to play him alongside Ramires who is not a proper ball winning defensive midfielder, turned out to be a tactical disaster.

3.     There is still a debate whether Radamel Falcao can still make his cut at Chelsea. Questions have been asked again about the wisdom in Mourinho’s decision to bring him to the Stamford Bridge.

4.     Bringing John Terry back into the line-up, proved to be another poor decision as the Chelsea icon struggled against Sadio Mane’s blistering pace.

IVANOVIC LOOKS A SHADOW OF HIS OLD SELF

The full-back who was a key cog in Chelsea defence last season and for many years, has directly contributed to most of the goals scored against Chelsea this season. 

Southampton players effortlessly walked past him like a training ground dummy.

It’s shocking how he has managed to keep his position in the Chelsea starting line-ups. Every EPL wingers seem to be playing against him these days.

TERRY IS NO LONGER A SOLUTION TO CHELSEA'S DEFENSIVE PROBLEMS

Many Chelsea fans blamed Terry’s absence for the defeat to FC Porto, however, the legendary defender’s presence was not enough to stop the aggressive Southampton attack from ripping the Chelsea defense to shreds.

CHELSEA PROBLEMS: A CARRYOVER FROM LAST SEASON

Chelsea began to show signs of decline towards the end of last season, although it was not as worse as it is now. Towards the end of last season they managed to record some 1-0 wins, it lingered to the Pre-season where they were very underwhelming, but managed to record some wins too. They have not had the same luck this season.

The team lacks character, commitment, pace and fluidity. The key players like Cesc Fabregas and Hazard have failed to live up to expectation, while Diego Costa prefers to be a street fighter than a football player.

JOSE MOURINHO IS FEELING THE PRESSURE

Mourinho was quick to blame the referee in the post-match press conference, a card he never gets tired of playing.

He looked totally rattled during the post-match press conference. Surprisingly Mourinho spoke for seven minutes in response to a question from a sky Sports reporter.

Football fans are asking questions already, why can't Mourinho ever get the third season right? In his first spell at Chelsea the third season was awful, it was the same at Madrid, he didn't have a third season at Inter Milan and Porto.

Chelsea are 16^th on the league table, and they have only managed to collect 8 points from 8 games. This is Chelsea’s worst start to a season in 37 years.

JOSE MOURINHO IS THE MOST POWERFUL CHELSEA FAN

Apart from the Manager, Jose is also a fan of Chelsea Football Club. The difference is, he is the only fan that has the power to change the situation of the club. He made it clear in the post-match press conference that he will not run away from the club.