As per usual, Rafa Benitez set the Blues out in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Brazilians David Luiz and Ramires being chosen to occupy the two double-pivot roles. I have no idea why the supposedly fit Mikel didn't start, especially as this was his last chance to play for us before being jetted away to Portugal to start Nigeria's training before the African Cup of Nations. Hazard, Mata and Moses were chosen to play in the front three behind new striker Demba Ba. I am still baffled about Rafa's choice of squad rotation over the last week, but let's not get into that now.
Although we ended the game 4 goals ahead, the first 30 minutes or so looked like it would be more of the same regarding our midweek loss. David Luiz and Ramires were poor in the double pivot, frequently losing the ball to Southampton's midfield, leaving the front 4 with nothing to work with. Due to this, a Southampton counter attack down the right side of the field ended up in a goal for the Saints, with James Puncheon playing in Jay Rodriguez, with his first touch taking him past Gary Cahill before calmly caressing the ball into the bottom left hand corner, past second choice keeper Ross Turnbull.
Despite being a goal behind, Chelsea still didn't look the team we expected them two, with passes being intercepted and attacking runs not being found. Hazard came close with a finessed shot at the edge of the area, which resulted in a fantastic save by Saints keeper Artur Boruc.
35 minutes in, and Chelsea managed to equalise, with a goal by debutant striker, Demba Ba. A lovely attack started down the left hand side, when Victor Moses played in Eden Hazard attacking down the wing. Come the edge of the box, Hazard played in Juan Mata, who cut in past two Southampton defenders before cheekily lobbing the ball over Boruc. The ball was in danger of being cleared before it reached the net, so quick thinker Demba Ba jumped at the opportunity to score his first Chelsea goal, equalising the game at 1-1.
After the equaliser, we looked a complete different team, with our midfield seeming a lot more confident, and our class was simply too much for Southampton's, and it wasn't to anyone's surprise that we took the lead just before the break. Mata picked up the ball at the edge of the box and played it to Victor Moses. A lovely 'Ronaldo chop' pass to Ashley Cole who saw his shot bounce off the Southampton defender and fall to Moses, who sweetly shot a left foot strike through the Saint's defence and into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.
The third Chelsea goal came in the 52nd minute, as rock solid Branislav Ivanovic jumped high to reach Mata's accurate free kick, after he had skilfully cut in down the left hand side. By now Chelsea had sealed the game, with Southampton showing no signs of getting back into it.
Chelsea made it 4 on the hour mark, as Mata picked up the ball on the half way line. David Luiz entered the attacking half as he loves to do, and attempted to play a long ball to Ba which got intercepted. Ba won the ball back using his brute force, and shielded the ball long enough for Moses to catch up, who received the pass. Moses quickly played the ball central to Ramires, who opted to go back out wide, this time to the right hand side where Eden Hazard played a beautiful through ball to the edge of the six yard box which saw Demba Ba score his second with a typical poachers finish.
Southampton did come close on the 70 minute mark, but a pair of great saves by Ross Turnbull prevented the ball from landing in his net for the second time. Ba could have made it three, two minutes later. A beautifully weighted pass by Ramires played Moses in on the right hand side. Moses saw Ba lose his defender in the area, and played a lightly weighted cross to the Senegalese striker, who headed it down, only to be saved by Boruc's feet.
Lampard won a penalty in the 81st minute, when the ref wrongly accused a Southampton player of a handball, when it actually hit his chest. Frank immediately picked up the ball, despite Demba Ba being one goal shy of a hat-trick, as Frank wanted to become the 2nd highest scorer in the history of the club. Lampard scored his 193rd goal, as his penalty was smashed into the bottom left hand corner, and you could really see his passion towards the Chelsea fans through his celebration.
So we made it into the 4th round draw which takes place at 3:30 on ITV1. Personally I'd like to see an away draw to Brighton, who beat Newcastle by 2 goals to 0, simply because I'd go to the match! But a good draw to see would be QPR, so we can get our own back on them after the shocking loss on Wednesday night.
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