Christopher Nkunku and Pedro Neto starred as Chelsea climbed to fourth place in the Premier League with a 4-0 rout of woeful Southampton on Tuesday.
Enzo Maresca’s side got back on track after three successive defeats with a dominant display at Stamford Bridge.
Nkunku put the Blues ahead and Neto doubled their lead before Levi Colwill bagged the third just before the break.
Marc Cucurella capped Chelsea’s biggest league win since thrashing Southampton 5-1 in December.
Pointed questions were being asked about Maresca after Chelsea were beaten at Aston Villa on Saturday, a limp performance that followed successive defeats to Brighton in the Premier League and FA Cup.
Underlining the growing frustration at Chelsea, over a hundred fans gathered outside the Bridge to protest against Todd Boehly’s ownership group before kick-off, chanting “we want our Chelsea back” and singing former owner Roman Abramovich’s name.
But Maresca had insisted he was “more sure” than ever that Chelsea were on the right track and they repaid his belief with a convincing result, albeit against a moribund team rooted to the foot of the table.
Chelsea’s third league win in 11 matches revived their bid to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2022.
Manchester City and Newcastle can move back above Chelsea if they beat Tottenham and Liverpool respectively on Wednesday.
Southampton have a meagre nine points from 27 matches, with 11 goals conceded in their last three league games.
No wonder boss Ivan Juric branded their season a “disaster” this week.
