Mason Mount’s second-half penalty earned Chelsea a 1-1 draw at Southampton as the Saints’ six-game Premier League losing streak come to an end.
Chelsea dominated right from the off, but for all their possession they created very little in the first half, and their wastefulness with the ball was punished as Takumi Minamino coolly put Saints in front in the 33rd minute – the first goal scored by an opponent against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea.
The visitors were gifted the chance to get back into the game after Danny Ings’ clumsy tackle on Mount earned Chelsea a penalty, with Mount stepping up to slot home in the 54th minute.
With Saints sitting deep, Tuchel will be disappointed his side could not secure all three points, as Chelsea stay fourth and Saints climb to 13th.
Tuchel brought Edouard Mendy back into the side, but the Blues goalkeeper was a mere bystander for much of the first half, with the Blues having 72.5 per cent possession in the opening period.
But all that possession is no use if you don’t do much with it, with only one team creating that killer chance – Nathan Redmond’s pass scything through Chelsea before Minamino threw two dummies, put Mendy on the deck, before slotting home his second goal since joining on loan from Liverpool.
Saints have capitulated in several of their recent defeats and were again pegged back after the break as Mount, in the absence of regular penalty taker Jorginho, stepped up to level.
From there, you would have expected Chelsea to go on and win the match, but that killer pass eluded them, meaning they could finish the weekend behind West Ham, should the Hammers beat Tottenham at home on Sunday.