Southampton
Jadon Sancho scored his first goal for Chelsea as they strolled to a resounding victory on the south coast.
Axel Disasi put them ahead early on and Joe Aribo quickly equalised, before goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke before half-time.
Cole Palmer added Chelsea’s fourth and Sancho got a late fifth.
Bottom side Southampton played most of the match with 10 men after captain Jack Stephens was bizarrely sent off six minutes before the interval for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair at a corner.
Enzo Maresca’s side could end the night second in the Premier League table if Arsenal, who kicked off later in the evening, fail to win at home to Manchester United. That game was goalless when Chelsea’s match ended.
Chelsea’s first two goals were gifted to them by Joe Lumley.
The former QPR goalkeeper made a mess of trying to gather Enzo Fernandez’s corner and Disasi headed home at the near post.
The struggling Saints were very much second best but did score an excellent goal when Kyle Walker-Peters got away from Fernandez and crossed towards Aribo, who got in front of Tosin Adarabioyo and swept the ball past keeper Filip Jorgensen.
Another howler from Lumley presented Chelsea with the lead again. His woeful pass to Walker-Peters was pounced on by Madueke, who teed up Nkunku for a simple finish into an empty net.
Lumley did partly atone by then denying Madueke, and pushing a strike from Palmer onto the post moments before Tosin headed against the bar.
But Lumley could do nothing about Madueke’s well worked goal – a left-footed curler into the far corner after exchanging passes with Joao Felix.
Worse followed for Southampton when Stephens was dismissed, and it was one-way traffic in the second half, with Chelsea creating a number of chances before Palmer’s goal.
Fernandez played in Nkunku, whose shot trickled past Lumley and might have gone in without Palmer making sure by helping himself to his ninth goal of the season.
Sancho capped a great night for Chelsea by finishing emphatically after collecting Malo Gusto’s pass.
Chelsea: Jorgensen; Gusto, Disasi, Tosin, Cucurella (Veiga 79); Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke (Sancho 72), Palmer (Dewsbury-Hall 79), Felix; Nkunku.
Subs not used: Sanchez, Badiashile, Colwill, Veiga, Lavia, Neto, Jackson.