CHELSEA returned to the top of the Premier League table on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
It was a dramatic encounter with Chelsea having two goals ruled out after reviews and Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse getting sent off after another Video Assistant Referee review.
Trevor Chalobah, Timo Werner and Ben Chilwell scored for the hosts while Ward-Prowse netted for the Saints before his red card.
Chelsea took an early lead when Chalobah stooped low to head home a corner in the ninth minute but Southampton drew level 16 minutes into the second half through Ward-Prowse’s penalty kick after former Chelsea player Valentino Livramento was brought down by Chilwell.
Southampton’s task was made harder in the 77th minute when Ward-Prowse was sent off and Chelsea took full advantage with Werner and Chilwell’s late goals.
The win took Chelsea’s tally to 16 points from seven matches on top of the table, while Southampton dropped to 17th with four points.
In other Premier League matches that kicked off on Saturday afternoon, Leeds United defeated a Watford side containing Nigeria internationals William Troost-Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis 1-0 at Elland Road, Wolves beat Newcastle United 2-1, while Burnley and Norwich drew 0-0.
Troost-Ekong and Dennis played the whole game for Watford as Diego Llorente’s 18th minute goal settled the contest.
The other Nigerian at Watford, Oghenekaro Etebo, has been ruled out of action for up to five months with a muscle tear.
With the result, Watford slipped to 14th in the table with seven points, while Leeds rose to 16th with six points after their first win of the season.
Hwang Hee-Chang scored twice for Wolves in their win over struggling Newcastle United to leave Steve Bruce’s side in the 19th spot.
Wolves are up to 11th with nine points.
