The Saints were appealing for a spot-kick again when Mane
went down in the box but their appeals were denied by referee
Robert Madley despite contact being made during Ramires'
challenge.
Southampton were the better side as the first half drew to a
close and great work from Mane saw him dribble infield and
send through a pinpoint pass for Ryan Bertrand, but Asmir
Begovic narrowed the angle and denied the defender a goal
against his former club.
The equaliser did arrive one minute before half-time though. A
long pass from defence was chested down far too easily by
Pelle on the edge of the box and Davis stepped up to rifle a low
shot into the bottom corner.
Both sides made changes at the break, with Nemanja Matic
replacing Ramires and Ward-Prowse coming on for Romeu.
Within minutes of the re-start, a sweeping Southampton
passing move almost resulted in a goal, but Begovic did well to
repel Mane's effort at close-range following Dusan Tadic's
square pass.
Chelsea were struggling to generate clear-cut opportunities but
felt they should have had a penalty. Falcao outmuscled Jose
Fonte and went down in the box as he attempted to round
Stekelenburg, but received a booking for what the referee saw
as a dive.
That decision proved costly for the champions on the hour-
mark. After Gary Cahill had given away possession, Pelle
slipped through a pass which Terry completely misjudged,
allowing Mane to race through on goal. Begovic got something
on the ball in his attempt to save but not enough to prevent his
side falling behind.
There was more woe for Chelsea on 72 minutes. This time it
was Hazard who gave away the ball and Mane led a
swift counter-attack before setting up Pelle to convert with a
lethal finish into the far corner.
A crucial block from Terry denied Southampton a fourth after
Mane won a battle of strength against Cahill down the left and
brilliantly set up Tadic.
Chelsea almost had a goal back when a poor piece of
goalkeeping from Stekelenburg allowed substitute Pedro the
opportunity to shoot, but the ex-Barcelona man was just off
target.
went down in the box but their appeals were denied by referee
Robert Madley despite contact being made during Ramires'
challenge.
Southampton were the better side as the first half drew to a
close and great work from Mane saw him dribble infield and
send through a pinpoint pass for Ryan Bertrand, but Asmir
Begovic narrowed the angle and denied the defender a goal
against his former club.
The equaliser did arrive one minute before half-time though. A
long pass from defence was chested down far too easily by
Pelle on the edge of the box and Davis stepped up to rifle a low
shot into the bottom corner.
Chelsea's miserable 2015-16 season continued as they fell to a
stunning 3-1 defeat against a rampant Southampton side at
Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The hosts took the lead through Willian's free-kick, but Steven
Davis deservedly levelled proceedings just before half-time.
Chelsea thought they should have had a penalty when Radamel
Falcao was brought down by Maarten Stekelenburg in the
second half shortly before Sadio Mane put the Saints in front
after a mistake from the returning John Terry. Graziano Pelle
then sealed a victory which piles further pressure on manager
Jose Mourinho.
The champions have now taken just eight points from as many
matches after conceding three times in a home league game
for the first time ever under the Portuguese boss, while
Southampton have won three consecutive games and scored
12 goals in the process.
Mourinho had said before the match he would continue to
rotate his side as he searches for a winning formula and he did
exactly that with four changes as Falcao, Eden Hazard, Oscar
and captain Terry were selected.
There was to be no instant response following the midweek debacle against Porto, as Jose Mourinho's charges were outplayed in the second half to continue their poor league start
Former Blues midfielder Oriol Romeu started in place of James
Ward-Prowse in the only alteration made by Ronald Koeman.
Chelsea took the lead in the 10th minute after Romeu had been
booked for a foul on Hazard out wide.
Willian stepped up and his 30-yard delivery found the far corner
after bouncing off the post. It was unclear if the attempt was
deliberate, but the Brazilian celebrated scoring for the fourth
game in a row.
Virgil van Dijk's penalty appeal was turned down after
Branislav Ivanovic had a hold on his shirt at a corner, before
Davis lashed an effort wide as Southampton attempted to
respond.
At the other end, Stekelenburg saved Oscar's curling effort
after the playmaker had combined well with Cesc Fabregas in a
tightly-congested penalty area.
Both sides made changes at the break, with Nemanja Matic
replacing Ramires and Ward-Prowse coming on for Romeu.
Within minutes of the re-start, a sweeping Southampton
passing move almost resulted in a goal, but Begovic did well to
repel Mane's effort at close-range following Dusan Tadic's
square pass.
Chelsea were struggling to generate clear-cut opportunities but
felt they should have had a penalty. Falcao outmuscled Jose
Fonte and went down in the box as he attempted to round
Stekelenburg, but received a booking for what the referee saw
as a dive.
That decision proved costly for the champions on the hour-
mark. After Gary Cahill had given away possession, Pelle
slipped through a pass which Terry completely misjudged,
allowing Mane to race through on goal. Begovic got something
on the ball in his attempt to save but not enough to prevent his
side falling behind.
There was more woe for Chelsea on 72 minutes. This time it
was Hazard who gave away the ball and Mane led a
swift counter-attack before setting up Pelle to convert with a
lethal finish into the far corner.
A crucial block from Terry denied Southampton a fourth after
Mane won a battle of strength against Cahill down the left and
brilliantly set up Tadic.
Chelsea almost had a goal back when a poor piece of
goalkeeping from Stekelenburg allowed substitute Pedro the
opportunity to shoot, but the ex-Barcelona man was just off
target.
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