Adam Armstrong caps Southampton fightback after Chelsea fade away

There were plenty of mitigating factors for Chelsea, if they wanted to look. The absence of Reece James, the poor quality of the pitch, the industry of Raheem Sterling, the unrepeatable brilliance of Roméo Lavia’s game-changing equalising goal. But the fact remains that this is still a brittle and skittish side, short on rhythm and inspiration, and one that appears to have completely mislaid the defensive stubbornness of the early Thomas Tuchel era.

Adam Armstrong scored the winning goal for Southampton, who were at their restless and rampaging best here: a young and hungry team who fight for every ball, press every opponent, and know their strengths. They moved ahead of Chelsea with this result and while they will rarely dominate games there is enough resilience and counter-punch in there to portend a bright season. Their lead – undeserved at the time – would later be fully earned in sweat and spirit and the saves of Gavin Bazunu.

In truth, until Lavia scorched the Chelsea net from 25 yards to haul Southampton back into the game, the home team had been barely clinging on. Chelsea’s front three were feasting on the spaces around their defence: Kai Havertz running the channels, Mason Mount dropping deep to receive, Sterling a permanent threat on the shoulder of the last man. Sterling wasted at least two good chances before finally hitting the target, and with a little more precision could conceivably have finished the game within 25 minutes.

But then this has always been the paradox of Sterling, a player who on bare numbers alone bears comparison with the great English forwards of his generation, and yet who retains a certain reputation for wastefulness. That Sterling squanders plenty of shots is beyond doubt; what is