Concern for Chelsea? Reasons for key defensive duo missing Southampton tie revealed
An explanation for why all of Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed Chelsea’s clash with Southampton has been provided.
Chelsea edge past Southampton
Chelsea would welcome Southampton to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening for a League Cup meeting.
The Blues headed into the game on a superb run of form, which currently sees them sitting pretty atop of the Premier League.
However, Thomas Tuchel did make a number of changes against the Saints, including handing rare starts to Kepa Arrizabalaga and Saul Niguez.
Chelsea’s second-string side would eventually take the lead in the tie after 44 minutes via Kai Havertz.
However, Southampton looked a much better unit in the second 45 and took just two minutes to draw level after the break, through Che Adams.
And following this goal, the two sides could not be separated in normal time, with a penalty shootout instead needed.
The Londoners would emerge victorious from the shootout by a score of 4-3.
Why Azpilicueta, Christensen & Loftus-Cheek missed out vs Southampton
Following the game, Simon Johnson of The Athletic has explained why all of Azpilicueta, Christensen and Loftus-Cheek missed the game.
All three players were actually expected to start the game, but a shoulder issue, teeth surgery and a thigh problem saw them miss out.
No information is given on when said trio could be back, but Chelsea fans are no doubt concerned about having two of their main defenders out this coming weekend vs Newcastle.
Azpilicueta, Christensen and Loftus-Cheek would have all started tonight, but shoulder, teeth surgery (collision in training) and thigh respectively picked up in training ruled them out. Loftus-Cheek is thought to be the most serious of the three. #CHESOU
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) October 26, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 9 | 20 | 22 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 9 | 21 | 21 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 9 | 16 | 20 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 9 | 6 | 17 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 9 | 0 | 15 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 | -4 | 15 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 9 | 1 | 14 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 9 | 1 | 14 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 9 | 0 | 14 |
| 10 | Arsenal FC | 9 | -3 | 14 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 9 | 0 | 13 |
| 12 | Brentford FC | 9 | 2 | 12 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 9 | -2 | 10 |
| 14 | Watford FC | 9 | -5 | 10 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 9 | -3 | 9 |
| 16 | Southampton FC | 9 | -4 | 8 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 9 | -8 | 7 |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 9 | -8 | 4 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 9 | -9 | 4 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 9 | -21 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 4 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 4 |
| Hwang, Hee-chan | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 4 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 4 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 3 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 3 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 3 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Veltman, Joel | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 4 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 4 |
| Skipp, Oliver | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 3 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 3 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 3 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 3 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 3 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester City | 0 | 3 |
| Saiss, Romain | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 3 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 2 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Grealish, Jack | Manchester City | 2 |
