Breaking Down the Two Southampton Goals

Picture 1. Lambert Goal

CHELSEA USUALLY WINS WHEN they lead 2-0 at halftime, that was not the case against Southampton. With the substitution of Ricky Lambert, the Saints strengthened their presence centrally; then they exploited Chelsea's weakness down the flanks to earn a point from this game.

For the Lambert goal, the initial mistake was made by Hazard, who attempted to tackle Saints' fullback Clyne. When that was not successful, Clyne had time measure a cross into the box. Still, it wasn't the end of the world for Chelsea; both of the Southampton attackers--Lambert and Do Prado--in the box were marked--by Cahill and Azpilicueta respectively.

As Clyne prepared to cross, Lambert pushed Cahill toward the goal to gain a yard of space. The cross came; the striker leaned back on Azpilicueta and headed the ball with his feet on the ground.

The initial mistake by Hazard combined with Cahill losing out the physical battle allowed the Saints to get back into the game.

Picture 2. Puncheon Goal

Demba Ba rarely loses possession, but when he did on this occasion, Azpilicueta pressed aggressively down the right, leaving a ton of space behind him. When Luke Shaw broke down that right side, Azpilicueta would come out second best in the foot race. Down the middle, Gaston Ramirez, another substitute, sped past Lampard and headed toward the box.

This meant that Chelsea defense had to shift from left to right: Cahill, who was initially marking Lambert, now looked to close down Shaw; Luiz filled in to mark Lambert; Cole, who could have been minding Puncheon on the far left, now had to shift toward Ramirez down the center*. So when a cross from Shaw finally came, Puncheon was free to take a touch before finding the net.

*Cole probably could have still marked Puncheon if Lampard tracked Ramirez all the way back into the Chelsea box.

The two key points here are (1) Azpilicueta pushing too far forward and getting caught out and (2) Lampard's inability to keep up with the fresh legs of Ramirez down the middle.

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