Southampton heaped more misery on Chelsea by coming from behind to win 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho's reigning champions are now languishing in 16th position on the Premier League table with a third defeat in their past five outings despite taking an early lead through Willian.
The Brazilian's 10th-minute free-kick had the home side ahead but that was their only joy of the day as Steven Davis levelled just before half-time with a lovely volley from Graziano Pelle's knock-down on the edge of the area.
Sadio Mane then edged the Saints ahead on the hour-mark when he raced onto a well-weighted pass from Pelle before firing beyond Asmir Begovic, who managed to get a hand to the Senegal forward's effort.
Any hope of a Blues comeback was snuffed out just under 20 minutes from time when Pelle capped a brilliant performance with a powerful angled finish from Mane's lay-off to give Ronald Koeman's side a second straight win which lifted them to ninth on the table.
MATCH OVERVIEW
Chelsea: 1 (Willian 10')
Southampton: 3 (Steven Davis 43', Sadio Mane 60', Graziano Pelle 72')
Stamford Bridge, London - 41,642
TALKING POINTS
- Where to for Mourinho and Chelsea? How does this team rediscover the form that won them the title last season?
- Southampton gunning for the top six or seven. Do they have the quality to do so?
WHAT'S NEXT?
Chelsea will host Aston Villa after the international break as the Saints look for a third-straight win when they host Leicester City.
TWITTER INSIGHT
An honour to have made my 100th appearance for the club, and to top it off.. What a win at Chelsea!!#WeMarchOnpic.twitter.com/Qv48bC7OkW
— James Ward-Prowse (@Prowsey16) October 4, 2015A great day! Good win in a special stadium. Our supporters performed even better than us, spectacular! #WeMarchOnpic.twitter.com/URT0ZrLXXe
— Oriol Romeu (@OriolRomeu) October 3, 2015
QUOTES CORNER
Chelseaboss Mourinho on his current situation:
"No way I resign. No way. Why? Because Chelsea cannot have a better manager than me.
"I want the best for my club and the best for my club is for me to stay."
Southampton's Koeman praised his team's display:
"The whole team performance was perfect.
"After 1-0 down we looked comfortable and of course to win against teams like Chelsea you need your best players on that high level."
STATS SPECIALS
*Thanks to Opta
17 - Southampton have allowed the opposition fewer shots on target than any other PL team this season. Drilled.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 20152 - Chelsea have kept only two clean sheets in 12 matches this season (all competitions). Tracking.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 20156 - Chelsea have conceded as many goals in their last four PL home games as they had in the previous 14 at Stamford Bridge. Breached.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 20155 - Jose Mourinho has lost five of his last 10 Premier League games. Before that he'd lost only five of the previous 59. Fade.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 2015
TEAM LEADERS
CHELSEA
Goals - Willian 2
Assists - Eden Hazard, Pedro Rodriguez 2
Clean sheets - Asmir Begovic 1
Yellow cards - Branislav Ivanovic 3
Red cards - Thibaut Courtois, John Terry 1
SOUTHAMPTON
Goals - Graziano Pelle 5
Assists - Sadio Mane 4
Clean sheets - Maarten Stekelenburg 3
Yellow cards - Jose Fonte, Graziano Pelle 3
