What we learned from Southampton's lunchtime draw with Chelsea
- Henry Valantine
- 20 February 2021
Southampton rediscover their steel; Callum Hudson-Odoi suffers at the hands of Tuchel.
Despite being dominant in possession throughout the match, Chelsea could not secure all three points against a Southampton side who managed to avoid a sixth consecutive Premier League defeat.
In fact, Chelsea's only way past Ralph Hassenhuttl's side was from the spot. Danny Ings rashly brought Mason Mount down in his own penalty area and referee Anthony Taylor pointed straight to the spot. Mount picked himself up and fired past Alex McCarthy to put the Blues on level terms.
Mount celebrates scoring his penalty against Southampton
Reece James battles with Southampton goalscorer Minamino
Fantasy stars
Following Minamino's loan move and his increasing involvement in Premier League matches, his availability at £6.0m on the official Fantasy Premier League game may be tempting for your free transfer this week.
Anyone who transferred Danny Ings out of their squad will have felt vindicated - Ings was the fourth-most transferred out player between game weeks - as the striker failed to score a goal and conceded the penalty for Mount to equalise.
From the managers
Thomas Tuchel told BT Sport: "We had all the chances and all possibilities to take the win, it would have been deserved, sometimes in football you concede one chance and they score.
"It is always a big week so it is mixed feelings at the moment, it will not be easier to score against Atletico."
Ralph Hassenhuttl with BBC Sport: "A very good point after the last weeks, we deserved more in the last weeks than we got, it was hard for us to play football, we did it one time when we scored and we worked on this during the week. We did what we can do, they pushed us to the limits and the point was the limit today.
"Takumi Minamino does surprising things with the ball, he is physically not the strongest but the intention is there. After the equaliser we kept going so from 65 minutes onwards I felt we could take something from the game.
"The results have not shown what we have played in the last few weeks, now we finally have 30 points and can keep going."
Social zone
Can’t dwell on anything, big games coming up! pic.twitter.com/j3LqUSHdf9
— Mason Mount (@masonmount_10) February 20, 2021
Not happy with the result today. But we'll stay confident for the important challenges in front of us 👊🏾 #Hustle #AlwaysBelieve @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/Gg3d1QJM83
— Antonio Rüdiger (@ToniRuediger) February 20, 2021
What's next?
For Chelsea, attention will turn to the Champions League last 16 and one of the toughest tests around as they prepare to face runaway La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
After a disappointing defeat against Wolves on Friday night, Marcelo Bielsa's men will be out to put that result right. For Hassenhuttl's men, however, they'll be aiming to build on a dogged performance and well-earned point from this lunchtime fixture.
Odds check
This draw dented Chelsea's top-four chances, with Thomas Tuchel's side now a shorter price to finish outside the top four (8/11) than to finish inside it (10/11).
