Super Eagles winger Victor Moses was a very late substitute with just four minutes action as Chelsea survived initial scare to win 2-3 away to Southampton on Saturday.
The Nigeria international was thrown into the game in the 86th in place of Eden Hazard at a time when both teams were cautiously playing to see off regulation time.
Southampton had started on a no nonsense note hitting target in the 21st minute thanks to Serbian import Dušan Tadić. The homers maintained the lead till the end of the first half and on resumption of hostilities in the second half increased the tally in the 60th minute. It was however Olivier Giroud who came off the bench that flagged off the table turning push scoring in the 70th minute after enjoying an assist from Marcos Alonso. Hazard found his scoring boot in the 75th minute before Giroud again hit target to hand the Blues a 3-2 victory.
Chelsea looked destined to suffer a sixth defeat from nine league outings when Jan Bednarek put Saints 2-0 up after an hour, but Antonio Conte’s decision to throw Giroud on from the bench proved a masterstroke.
Despite appearing to be in the ascendancy early on, Chelsea’s lack of craft meant Southampton were comfortable, and that encouragement ultimately led to the home side breaking the deadlock.
Ryan Bertrand did well down the left before setting up Dusan Tadic for a straightforward fourth goal of the season.
Chelsea were not much better immediately after the restart and, after failing to heed a warning courtesy of Shane Long, the Saints’ lead was doubled thanks to a fine finish from Bednarek, who was making his first start for the club.
It was only after Giroud’s introduction in the 61st minute that Chelsea took charge, as the France international scored twice either side of an emphatic Eden Hazard finish to wrap up an unlikely victory to leave Southampton in the bottom three.
Saturday’s clash might as well pass for some form of rehearsal as both teams again go head to head at Wembley next week in their FA Cup semi-final.
