Five things we learned from Southampton v Chelsea

Here are five things we learned from the game:

1. Three in a row for Saints:

Saints' form should be a concern for manager Ralph Hasenhuttl

The St Mary’s defeat was the club’s third consecutive defeat in the top flight, which is the first time it’s happened under Ralph Hasenhuttl’s management.

Goals from Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi condemned Saints to the loss despite Danny Ings scoring when they were 2-0 down.

And with a trip to Wolves on the horizon following the international break, things may get worse before they start to get better.

2. More question marks over Angus Gunn’s position in the team:

Angus Gunn will be disappointed with his performance at St Mary's on Sunday

There has been plenty of talk amongst Saints fans as to whether it’s time Hasnehuttl picked Alex McCarthy after a run of errors from Gunn.

McCarthy came into the side for the 4-0 win against Pompey and looked solid, only to pick up an injury that ruled him out of the Tottenham match.

Although Gunn made some good saves against Chelsea, he was caught in no man’s land for Abraham’s opener, with there also being an argument that he should have done more to try and prevent Mount from netting their second.

3. Yan Valery returned to the starting XI:

Yan Valery leaves three Chelsea players in his wake on his way to setting up Danny Ings

After being dislodged by Cedric in Saints’ defence, Valery has spent most of this season watching proceedings from the bench.

But due to his teammate’s calf injury, the young Frenchman was given the opportunity to impress Hasenhuttl.

Valery completed a dazzling run, beating four Chelsea players, before sliding the ball to Ings to divert home from close range.

Although he was a threat going forward, he found himself out of position on more than one occasion which caused Saints issues at the back.

4. Ings’ impressive run continued:

Danny Ings wheels away after finding the back of the net on Sunday

Perhaps the only positive to take from Sunday’s comprehensive defeat was the performance of Ings.

Since coming back into the team, the striker has almost become indispensable due to his clinical edge in front of goal.

His strike against Chelsea took his tally to four goals in three games, which includes the memorable double he bagged at Fratton Park.

5. No clean sheets at home since February:

Chelsea celebrate one of their goals at St Mary's

You have to go back to last season’s 2-0 victory over Fulham to find the last time Saints managed to shut a side out at St Mary’s.

That game also happens to be the only home clean sheet the side have kept since Hasenhuttl took charge last December.

If Saints want to try and better themselves this season, the ability to prevent teams from scoring should be an absolute priority.

A team will turn up at St Mary’s in the knowledge that history suggests they will score at some point, which leaves Saints with an uphill task before the game even begins.