Chelsea hit five past dismal Southampton as Jack Stephens sees red

Southampton captain Jack Stephens was sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair as the Premier League’s bottom club were thrashed 5-1 by high-flying Chelsea.

Defender Stephens saw red in the 39th minute at St Mary’s, having tugged the curls of Cucurella during an inexplicable moment of madness while Saints were preparing to take a corner.

Chelsea already led 3-1 at that stage thanks to goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke after Southampton midfielder Joe Aribo briefly cancelled out Axel Disasi’s early opener.

Second-half finishes from Cole Palmer and Jadon Sancho piled more misery on Russell Martin’s men.

Stephens’ ridiculous dismissal was the headline mistake of a catalogue of errors from the beleaguered hosts as they slipped seven points from safety following an 11th defeat of a dismal season.

Chelsea, who stretched their unbeaten run to six top-flight games, could easily have won by more as they hit the woodwork three times, in addition to squandering a host of chances.

Blues head coach Enzo Maresca had warned his players to expect their “toughest game” of the season in Hampshire before making seven changes following Sunday’s impressive 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

Blues goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen made his Premier League debut as part of the squad rotation, while depleted Southampton were missing a host of key players through a combination of injury and suspension.

Jorgensen, a £20million summer arrival from Villarreal, was forced into a second-minute save to deny Aribo following Walker-Peters’ cross, albeit the latter was subsequently flagged offside.

ANOTHER WIN AWAY.