Mid-April EPL action is always guaranteed to bring some fireworks. Matchday 34 did bring some and a lot more on a great day of football.
The first match of the day in the Premier League was at the St. Mary’s Stadium between Southampton and Chelsea. Both teams are fighting to move up in the table. The Saints need points to avoid relegation while Chelsea need points to make the Champions League. Both sides played with wingbacks and played their normal 11.
Southampton 2-3 Chelsea
Mark Hughes and the Saints started off taking a surprising lead. Dusan Tadic scored on a tap-in after a great run into the box by Ryan Bertrand. The second half began with Chelsea unable to get any shots on Alex McCarthy’s goal. Instead, Southampton took a 2-0 lead when Jan Bednarek got a goal from the far post. James Ward-Prowse provided the pass from the free kick.
Conte knew something was going wrong and subbed out Alvaro Morata for Olivier Giroud. The French super sub brought one back for the Blues just nine minutes after coming on. Eden Hazard was then able to equalize five minutes later with a strike inside the box. The comeback was complete with Giroud’s second of the day. Three goals in an eight-minute span won the game for Chelsea. Olivier Giroud changed the match for the better and showed Blues fans he should be a regular starter.
The win for Conte is his first in the EPL since March 10th. Chelsea is still two wins and a draw out of a Champions League spot with five to play. Chelsea needed different players to step up. Willian and Marcos Alonso had been the only bright spots for Chelsea in recent games. Giroud scoring two should give Blues fan a big vote of confidence for keeping him on for next season.
Southampton gets a second chance at Giroud and Chelsea next weekend
Mark Hughes and the Saints remain in the relegation zone after their third straight loss. It’s a second straight 3-2 loss since they lost to Arsenal at the Emirates by the same scoreline. Southampton is now in serious trouble of going down to the Championship and needs other results to help them out of 18th place. The season is not lost yet with the Saints heading to Wembley to play Chelsea again in the FA Cup semifinals. First, they play at Leicester on Thursday.