Southampton vs Chelsea: Saints battle back to beat lifeless Blues (video)

Southampton vs Chelsea recap: Saints erased an early deficit to beat the Blues 2-1 at St. Mary’s Stadium on Tuesday, as Thomas Tuchel’s side suffered another disappointing defeat to a side that finished in the bottom-six of the Premier League last season.

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Raheem Sterling opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, but Romeo Lavia answered in emphatic fashion just five minutes later. Adam Armstrong struck the winner in first-half stoppage time before Saints’ almighty defensive effort in the second half.

A week and a half after being hammered 3-0 by Leeds, Chelsea were again unable to create scoring chances despite holding 67 percent possession in the game. With two times as much possession, Chelsea managed one less shot (8) than Southampton (9).

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Just five games into his Chelsea career, it has become abundantly clear that it was simply time for a change of scenery for Sterling. After seven seasons at Manchester City, there was little left for him to accomplish there, but more importantly, perhaps there was little left he could do to paint Pep Guardiola a new picture of himself. At 27 years old, Sterling looks as fit and sharp as ever, but more importantly, he appears joyful in his football once again, and especially motivated with the 2022 World Cup now less than three months away.

Southampton invested rather heavily ($61 million) and smartly in a youth movement that saw them acquire three full-time and two part-time starters this summer, and Tuesday offered a glimpse of what could well be an up-and-coming side in a year or two’s time. Lavia’s first professional goal (below video) was a spectacular strike from outside the area (making him the first player born