The win was our third in succession at Stamford Bridge – and the three points secured keep us right in the mix for a Champions League berth with 11 top-flight games remaining.

Pedro Neto leads from the front

In the absence of Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto was again tasked with playing in the most advanced attacking role. Just as at Villa Park, he took the responsibility in his stride.

Neto flitted across the frontline to seek out space and provide overloads. He worked at close quarters with Jadon Sancho, Cole Palmer, and, especially, Christopher Nkunku. The heatmap above shows how Neto often drifted slightly left to hurt Southampton, which also created space for Marc Cucurella to move into and offer an extra attacking threat.

Neto and Nkunku combined in the build-up to our second goal to great effect. The Portuguese ran on the outside of Nkunku to latch on to his well-weighted pass and fire the ball beyond Aaron Ramsdale. It typified Neto’s movement all night.

Neto also deserves credit for moving effectively throughout the contest; he registered a 96 per cent pass completion rate. One of those was the enticing set-piece he delivered for Levi Colwill, who powered a header beyond Ramsdale to give us a three-goal advantage by half time.

‘It’s good for me because it’s almost like I have a free role,’ Neto assessed afterwards. ‘I can receive the ball into feet, or I can go in behind, so it gives us options.

'I’m really enjoying the role, but I’m happy to play wherever is needed and as long as I’m helping the team, that’s the most important thing.’

Excellent Enzo catches the eye

Another player instrumental to the collective success was Enzo Fernandez. The Argentine received praise from Enzo Maresca after the game for ‘how good a leader he is, how good he is on the ball, and how good he is off the ball’.

Only three of our defenders spent more time in possession (6.3 per cent) or played more passes than Fernandez (65). And six six key passes were twice as many as anybody else managed as he broke the lines to help open up Southampton.

Fernandez’s two tackles were bettered only by Marc Cucurella of those in blue, and he was not dispossessed once. As the touch map below shows, Enzo covered so much ground to play his part defensively and offensively, blending his destructive qualities with a creative flair.

As a result, Fernandez received a standing ovation from the Stamford Bridge crowd and Maresca when he was substituted late on. He had produced a performance worthy of such recognition.

George and fellow youngsters make their mark

Earlier this month, Maresca mooted Tyrique George as a possible solution up front, and the 19-year-old showed what he can offer in that role having been brought on for Neto midway through the second half.

Like Neto, he most often picked up an inside-left position, although it was from an intelligent move across the frontline that the Academy graduate darted into space on our right side before setting up Marc Cucurella’s fourth.

In the process, George became the youngest Chelsea player to assist a Premier League goal since October 2019.

That assist was one of three key passes George played, an impressive tally considering his time on the pitch. His display was one of several highlights from Academy graduates on Tuesday night.

Seventeen-year-old Shumaira Mheuka was handed a Premier League debut and nearly scored with his first touch, a header from a corner, while Josh Acheampong accrued some more minutes in defence.

There was also a first sighting in blue of January signing Mathis Amougou, as Maresca was afforded the opportunity to make full use of his bench with much of the damage done in the first half.

It was the sort of clinical attacking performance the head coach called for in his pre-match media conference, and it bodes well for the decisive weeks that lie ahead.