Chelsea ended their losing streak in emphatic fashion with a dominant 4-0 victory over bottom-placed Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues maintained their strong record against sides at the foot of the table, securing their 12th win in 15 such encounters.
Southampton, fresh from a 2-1 win at Ipswich, had hopes of back-to-back away victories for the first time since 2020.
However, Chelsea quickly dashed those ambitions with a commanding first-half display.
Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring after Tosin Adarabioyo’s header fell kindly to him at the back post.
Despite a rare Southampton chance that saw Filip Jorgensen deny Paul Onuachu, Chelsea doubled their lead moments later through Pedro Neto’s clinical finish.
Neto then turned provider, delivering a pinpoint set-piece for Levi Colwill to score his first goal of the season, putting the game out of reach before halftime.
The hosts remained dominant after the break but were initially wasteful in front of goal, with Enzo Fernandez setting up Nkunku and Cole Palmer squandering chances.
Eventually, a swift counter-attack saw substitute Tyrique George set up Marc Cucurella for Chelsea’s fourth, sealing a comfortable win.
The victory temporarily lifts Chelsea back into the top four, while Southampton, having conceded nine goals across two league meetings with the Blues this season, remain rooted to the bottom, 13 points adrift of safety.
