John Terry scored on his 400th Premier League appearance as Chelsea fought back against Southampton to go outright second in the Premier League.
Southampton took the lead after just 13 seconds when Michael Essien carelessly presented Jay Rodriguez with a simple one-on-one opportunity to tuck past Petr Cech.
The visitors remained in front at half time but were soon pegged back by Gary Cahill's close-range header before Terry flicked the Blues in front just after the hour mark.
Half-time substitute Demba Ba sealed the victory in the final moments as Jose Mourinho continued his record of never losing a league game at home in charge of Chelsea.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of football at Stamford Bridge.
Match statistics:
Chelsea:
Shots 16
On target 7
Possession 51%
Corners 8
Fouls 15
Southampton:
Shots 9
On target 1
Possession 49%
Corners 4
Fouls 14
Was the result fair?
Without a shadow of a doubt. Southampton may have impressed in the first half but they could not handle Chelsea's assault in the second. As you can see from the stats above, Rodriguez's goal inside the first minute was their only shot on target.
Chelsea's performance
It couldn't have begun any worse for the home side but they steadied themselves after Essien's dreadful error. Oscar was their biggest threat in the first half but he had to go off injured before the break. Mourinho was not afraid to make his second change at half time by sending on Ba and it worked as Southampton were simply bulldozed over in the second 45 minutes. Juan Mata was back in the starting lineup and put in a display that will surely see him keep his place in the next match. Fernando Torres worked hard but could not find the net.
Southampton's performance
Mauricio Pochettino's side have been praised for their performances against the big guns this season and it looked like they might pull off another impressive result at half time. Unfortunately, the pressure built and built, and two goals in the space of seven minutes completely changed the match. Pochettino may work on defending set pieces this week after Chelsea's first two goals came that way.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Juan Mata: The Spaniard was allowed to play in his preferred 'number 10' role in the second half because of Oscar's absence and he thrived by playing a part in Cahill and Terry's goals. His cross for the second was a beauty that Terry did ever so well to flick home.
Biggest gaffe
Easy choice here and it has to be Essien for his thoughtless volley back towards goal that Rodriguez pounced upon to stun the Chelsea fans early on.
Referee performance
Michael Oliver dished out five yellow cards, four to Southampton who became more and more frustrated as the game fell away from their grasp. Oliver did not have any contentious decisions to deal with and was not too noticeable, which is always a good thing.
What next?
Chelsea: Next up for the Blues is a trip to lowly Sunderland on Wednesday night.
Southampton: The Saints, meanwhile, can get back to winning ways against Aston Villa midweek.
Pascal Lemesre
