Chelsea vs Southampton: Player ratings as Timo Werner struggles to make an impact at St Mary’s

Southampton ended a run of six straight defeats to draw 1-1 with Chelsea at St Mary’s in the Premier League on Saturday.

Despite visitors’ dominance in the first half, the Saints took the lead before the break when Liverpool loanee Takumi Minamino excellently dummied Edouard Mendy and rolled the ball into the net.

Mason Mount equalised for Chelsea from the spot after going down under a poor challenge from Danny Ings to ensure the Blues got a share of the points.

Southampton may feel hard done by to not come away with the win, as Jannik Vestergaard’s header looped onto the crossbar with Mendy beaten.

The draw keeps Chelsea in the top four – one point ahead of West Ham – while the Saints stay 13th after achieving their first positive result in the league since their win over Liverpool to open 2021.

Southampton

Alex McCarthy – 7. He made a solid stop to deny Zouma an equaliser – and that was his only real involvement.

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Mohammed Salisu – 7. The Ghanaian made an excellent tackle at the end of the first half to deny Abraham before intercepting a dangerous Werner cross.

Jan Bednarek – 6. He wasn’t as composed as Vestergaard, but he defended well for the most part.

Jannik Vestergaard – 8. He defended Werner well and made several important stops. Incredibly unlucky to see his header hit the crossbar.

Ryan Bertrand – 7. The English full back defended well and made a crucial intervention to stop Mount from picking out James. He made another key block to deny Ziyech late on.

Oriol Romeu – 6. Dealt well with Chelsea’s attacking midfielders, and ensured that Southampton retained the ball where possible.

James Ward-Prowse – 6. Struggled to influence the game as Chelsea dominated.

Moussa Djenepo – 8. He defended decently to help combat the threat of Alonso, and put his body on the line as he was stood on by both Werner and Kante. His dribbling caused Chelsea problems, particularly late in the match.

Takumi Minamino – 7. He had very little involvement in the first half, but he took his chance excellently to give the Saints the lead.

Nathan Redmond – 6. Redmond struggled to get into the game as James suffocated him, and lost the ball in his own half several times. His through ball opened Chelsea up for the opening goal.

Danny Ings – 4. The England international hardly had a touch in the opening half, and his awful tackle gave Chelsea a route back into the game. Not his day.

Substitutes:

Nathan Tella – 6.

Chelsea

Edouard Mendy – 6. The French goalkeeper could do little about the goal, as he was beaten by Minamino’s dummy.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 5. His poor positioning allowed for Minamino to attack the space and give Southampton the lead. Azpilicueta failed to read the situation and Chelsea paid the price.

Kurt Zouma – 6. What was Zouma doing for the goal? He had no idea that Minamino was in behind him. Nearly equalised soon after.

Antonio Rudiger – 5. The German moved the ball around nicely, his only notable involvement was a tame effort from distance.

Reece James – 7. He got forward and defended well, crossing effectively and dealing with Redmond nicely whenever the Saints attacker went wide. Perhaps should have scored the winner late, but he put it over the bar.

N’Golo Kante – 6. The French midfielder started brightly, but errors crept into his game as he lost possession cheaply on a number of occasions.

Mateo Kovacic – 6. The Croatian was solid in possession, but he was caught out for the goal as Kovacic failed to cover the inside that was exploited by Redmond. Brilliantly kick-started a Chelsea move with a terrific switch to James.

Marcos Alonso – 7. As always, the Spaniard was a constant option for Chelsea down the left.

Mason Mount – 7. The England international started brightly and showed his fine dribbling skills. He won and scored the penalty to equalise, and was Chelsea’s key player.

Timo Werner – 5. A poor pass from the German to Alonso highlighted his struggles to integrate in this team, and his poor control ruined another good move by the Blues.

Tammy Abraham – 6. The striker was completely anonymous for the Blues, largely because the visitors failed to create anything substantial. Withdrawn at half time.

Substitutes:

Callum Hudson-Odoi – 6.

Hakim Ziyech – 6.

Jorginho – 6.

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