LONDON - Chelsea thumped hapless Southampton 4-0 on Tuesday, with scorers from all over the pitch, to climb to fourth in the Premier League and keep the visitors pinned to the bottom of the table.
The win takes the west London side to 46 points, two points above Manchester City and Newcastle United who respectively play at Tottenham Hotspur and leaders Liverpool on Wednesday.
Southampton's 22nd defeat of the season leaves them 13 points from the safety zone, while Chelsea's win means thy can hang on to hopes of Champions League football next season.
With no out-and-out striker because of an injury to Nicolas Jackson, Chelsea have been struggling for goals and needed defenders as well as forwards to step up.
They were in control from the start, though, and barely a minute after Aaron Ramsdale saved a Cole Palmer shot with his feet, Christopher Nkunku bundled the ball in at the back post after a corner and nod down from defender Tosin Adarabioyo.
France striker Nkunku then turned provider by slipping a neat pass to Chelsea's Portugal winger Pedro Neto who fired a powerful left-foot shot between Ramsdale and the near post.
Central defender Levi Colwill made it 3-0 just before halftime, heading down a Neto free kick, and Spain wing back Marc Cucurella converted a pinpoint pass from 19-year-old substitute and academy graduate Tyrique George in the 78th.
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Ramsdale made sharp saves in the last 10 minutes to deny Palmer and Enzo Fernandez or the score could have been more.
Chelsea had lost four of their previous five games in all competitions before Tuesday's match, dropping to seventh.
"We all needed that," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told broadcaster TNT. "We were in a bad run in terms of results ... The club needed that. We are happy."
Palmer struggles
One disappointment on an otherwise morale-boosting night for Chelsea was the form of their talisman Cole Palmer, who again failed to capitalize on good chances and endured a frustrating seventh game in a row without a goal.
But Maresca said Palmer would be fine. He had seen other players go through awkward periods in their careers.
"We are all former players. All of us went through some bad moments. You cannot expect Palmer to be like he was last season or how he was in the first part of the season. It's normal. He is human.
"It's about how you react. Keep working, keep laughing, keep calm, be happy and enjoy the football. It's the only thing you have to do," Maresca said.
The coach gave a few minutes to debutants 17-year-old Shumaira Mheuka and French midfielder Mathis Amougou, 19.
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"Probably, there were too many young players at the end," he said. "The Chelsea academy has always been a good one. We have already many players like Levi Colwill and hopefully in the future, we can have more."
