Chelsea 3-1 Southampton: Blues top after late Ben Chilwell and Timo Werner goals sink 10-man Saints

Chelsea scored two late goals as Thomas Tuchel's side bounced back from consecutive defeats to beat winless Southampton and move top of the Premier League.

Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell struck in the final six minutes after Saints had been reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of captain James Ward-Prowse for a poor challenge on Jorginho.

Academy product Trevoh Chalobah put the hosts ahead after nine minutes, swooping at the back post to head in his second of the season after Ruben Loftus-Cheek flicked on Chilwell's corner.

A dominant Chelsea had the ball in the net on two further occasions in the first half, however Romelu Lukaku was flagged offside and Werner's header was ruled out following a foul by Cesar Azpilicueta on Kyle Walker-Peters in the build-up.

The hosts were punished for not extending their advantage when former Chelsea player Tino Livramento was tripped by Chilwell in the box and Ward-Prowse fired in the resulting penalty.

However, the visitors could not hold out for a point following the loss of their skipper, whose yellow card was upgraded to a straight red after referee Martin Atkinson viewed the pitchside monitor.

And having lost 1-0 to Juventus in the Champions League in midweek after their unbeaten league start was ended by Manchester City, Werner and Chilwell's late strikes ensured Chelsea returned to winning ways at Stamford Bridge.

Werner impresses as Chelsea bounce back

Chelsea have not lost back-to-back Premier League matches since Tuchel's January appointment, a record which speaks volumes of the Blues' consistency under the former Paris St-Germain boss.

But having struggled for creativity in the final third in their previous two outings, the energetic Werner was named among five changes on Saturday as Chilwell and Loftus-Cheek made their first league starts of the season.

The German forward eventually got the goal his tireless efforts deserved, meeting Azpilicueta's low cross in the closing stages for his first goal of the campaign before Chilwell ensured victory in the 89th minute with a fine strike.

The hosts had made a dominant start and Werner was denied by both Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and a superb sliding block from Oriol Romeu before seeing his header overruled by the video assistant referee.

That decision, reached after referee Atkinson reviewed Azpilicueta's foul, led to a booking for a frustrated Tuchel in the aftermath - and that sense of injustice was compounded when Saints levelled.

However, Ward-Prowse's red card proved pivotal as, after McCarthy produced an excellent save to deny Werner, Chelsea were able to exploit the extra space afforded to them to end Saints' resistance.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's Southampton, meanwhile, go into the October international break without a win after seven Premier League games, nine including the end of last season, which equals their worst winless run under the Austrian.

Player of the match

WernerTimo Werner

Chelsea

Squad number11Player nameWerner

Squad number14Player nameChalobah

Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek

Squad number18Player nameBarkley

Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva

Squad number21Player nameChilwell

Squad number2Player nameRüdiger

Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta

Squad number19Player nameMount

Squad number9Player nameLukaku

Squad number8Player nameKovacic

Squad number20Player nameHudson-Odoi

Squad number16Player nameMendy

Squad number5Player nameJorginho

Line-ups

Chelsea

Formation 3-4-2-1

16Mendy

14Chalobah6Thiago Silva2Rüdiger

28Azpilicueta12Loftus-Cheek8Kovacic21Chilwell

11Werner20Hudson-Odoi

9Lukaku

Substitutes

Southampton

Formation 4-4-2

1McCarthy

21Livramento35Bednarek22Salisu2Walker-Peters

32Walcott8Ward-Prowse6Romeu23Tella

9Armstrong11Redmond

Substitutes

Live Text

Match ends, Chelsea 3, Southampton 1.

Second Half ends, Chelsea 3, Southampton 1.

Moussa Djenepo (Southampton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Foul by Moussa Djenepo (Southampton).

Foul by Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea).

Moussa Djenepo (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Timo Werner (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Foul by Mohammed Salisu (Southampton).

Mohammed Salisu (Southampton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Timo Werner (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.

Foul by Mohammed Salisu (Southampton).

Goal! Chelsea 3, Southampton 1. Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the top left corner.

César Azpilicueta (Chelsea) hits the right post with a right footed shot from the right side of the six yard box.

Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) hits the right post with a left footed shot from very close range. Assisted by Mason Mount.

Substitution, Southampton. Mohamed Elyounoussi replaces Nathan Redmond.

Attempt missed. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) left footed shot from the left side of the box misses to the right.

Goal! Chelsea 2, Southampton 1. Timo Werner (Chelsea) left footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal. Assisted by César Azpilicueta.

Substitution, Chelsea. Ross Barkley replaces Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Jan Bednarek.

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