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Southampton At Chelsea The Verdict

Ruben Selles was a name that most Saints new, but for many that was all they knew, he was just another face on the Saints bench, so the big question was, in his first Premier League game as caretaker manager what would he change ?

When the team was announced an hour before kick off there were a few raised eyebrows for Saints supporters, Jan Bednarek was still in the team with no place on the bench for either Calete-Car or Salisu.

At right back was Ainsley Maitland-Niles with Kyle Walker Peters on the bench, probably because he wasn't yet 100% fit.

In the midfield there was a return to the starting line up for Stuart Armstrong and back came Moi Elyounoussi.

It was clear though that Ruben Selles was going to keep things simple, a straightforward 4-4-2.

From the start you could see that there was a change in the team's outlook and spirit, they played as if a weight had been taken off their shoulders and they were ready to roll up their sleeves and graft.

But this was never going to be a simple task, just because the change had been made in manager it didn't mean that everything was going to be all right now, we had to play a Chelsea side who were looking for the three points that would keep them up with the top 6.

The home side was packed with expensive players with talent, we were going to have to work for whatever we could get.

Chelsea as you would expect had a lot of the ball, but whenever they tried to create something they found a Saints player pressing them and harassing them, just as we did in the good runs we had under Ralph Hassenhuttl.

James Ward Prowse lead by example, I sometimes think some don't give him the credit he deserves, he is a great reader of the game, he makes things look simple by knowing just where the ball is going and winning it or blocking it or making a tackle, he rarely loses a header and of course there is that ability from free kicks.

But it was no one man team out there, each and every man left nothing on the pitch at the end, Ruben Selles also made the right substitutes at the right time.

Chelsea were frustrated at every turn and it should be noted that although Chelsea had 17 shots to our 8, few of them troubled Cavin Bazunu with only 5 on target, exactly the same number we ourselves had.

As half time approached we had actually had the best efforts, the lively Sulemana getting away from his man and seeing his effort well saved and Tall Paul Onuachu, getting up and putting a header inches wide.

The critical moment came just before the break, Chelsea giving away a silly free kick tight in prime JWP territory and our Captain did not shun the invitation, a trademark freekick, his 17th goal from that situation bringing him only 1 goal behind David Beckham for the most Premier League goals from free kicks.

That gave us the advantage and Chelsea made changes at the break, Raheem Sterling is a man who has often been our tormentor and he tried his best on this occasion.

In truth though we only looked like conceding once, or to be accurate twice, in a second half incident seeing Romain Perraud scrambling the ball off the line (Jan Bednarek take note) and then Romeo Lavia blocking the shot moments later and deflecting it over the bar with the goal gaping.

The worry when Sadio Mara's attempted overhead kick sparked Azpilicueta out aside that the Chelsea man was ok was that the 10 minute delay would disrupt our concentration, not only that but the psychological affect that so long a period of injury time added on would have.

Truth is it helped a little, the number when it came up was 12 minutes, given that play had been stopped for 10 minutes, only adding another 2 minutes was strange but welcome.

Chelsea huffed and puffed but Saints dug in and the celebrations began in the away section as the final whistle finally went.

This was a team performance though, James Ward Prowse was the man of the match, he was immense and lead by example, but without exception all the others followed.

There was not a man who let Saints down, Moi Elyounoussi was perhaps not a welcome sight to many when the line up was announced, in truth he created little on the day, but he also stuck doggedly to his task defensively and let no one down.

Likewise Ainsley Maitland-Niles at right back, he was excellent, he defended and he also got forward and it is fair to say that our right side saw most of our attacking play.

Last week I lamented that Nathan Jones let down his team by not bringing on fresh legs at the right time, no one could accuse Ruben Selles of doing that, on the hour mark he made a triple change, fresh legs up front and in the midfield, likewise in the final stages when he replaced the tiring Lavia with Diallo and Elyounoussi with Charly Alcatraz.

When Lyanco came on 5 minutes into injury time it brough a boost to all both players and fans, you knew he was not going to let the game go now.

The end saw the players particularly Armando Bella-Kotchap almost dragging Ruben Selles to the away section to take the plaudits, the caretaker manager seemed reluctant to do so, preferring to let his players take the acclaim, but the players showed what they thought of their perhaps temporary boss by almost parading him to the cheering Saints fans as you would the FA Cup after winning it at Wembley.

The fans needed little encouragement though, it was clear that a weight was lifted off the shoulders, the fans believe again, they believe that we have a good squad and that we can now drag ourselves clear and that seems to be matched by the players themselves.

So a big big win and one that was sorely needed not just for the confidence that winning brings, but because it kept us up with the teams above us.

This is going to be a tough few months, but we are only a good win away from coming out of the bottom three, things are that close that if we had held on and beaten Wolves last week we would already be out, but perhaps that weight would still be on our shoulders and yesterday might never have happened.


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