Chelsea vs. Southampton: Winners and Losers from Premier League
Chelsea inched one point further ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League title race by drawing, 1-1, with Southampton on Sunday.
A Diego Costa header opened the scoring following Branislav Ivanovic's cross, but Dusan Tadic converted a penalty soon after to square things off ahead of the break.
A battle ensued in the second half, but neither team could beat the other's goalkeeper. Here, B/R picks its winners and losers.
Winner: Thibaut Courtois, Who Excelled in Goal
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Thibaut Courtois had himself another excellent game. In other news, there are 24 hours in a day, the sky is blue and pigs most certainly do not fly.
The Belgian was all that stood between Southampton and a lead in the first half, with the defensive line completely relenting and allowing chance after chance.
Diving left, right, palming free-kicks clear and collecting corners, Courtois showed his full repertoire and prevented the Blues from falling into a half-time hole.
Loser: Referee Mike Dean, Whose Inconsistencies Infuriated
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Mike Dean's iffy showing on Sunday afternoon compounded the low standard of refereeing in the Premier League this season. Contentious decisions have never felt more scrutinised, and rightly so.
Dean awarded Southampton a penalty that Chelsea's official Twitter account was less than impressed with, suggesting the player in question, Nemanja Matic, took a chunk of the ball before he took his man. Soon after, Dusan Tadic raked the back of Branislav Ivanovic's foot in the box, sending him tumbling, but nothing was handed out.
Then, a minute into the second half, Matic inexplicably avoided a second yellow for chopping Sadio Mane down on the counterattack. Ivanovic was later yellow-carded for the same challenge, in the same position, on the same player.
Where's the consistency?
Winner: Fraser Forster, Who Saved Saints' Skin
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Southampton's infuriating tendency to give the ball away late when they should be holding on to it, killing the game and grinding out the point, threatened to derail all of the hard work over the course of 90 minutes. One player who did understand the importance of buying time, though, was Fraser Forster.
Not only did he contribute match-saving stops and do superbly to deny Loic Remy at the death, but he also managed the clock brilliantly and matched Thibaut Courtois every step—and every save—of the way.
Loser: Cesc Fabregas, Who Looks a Shadow of His Usual Self
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Cesc Fabregas turned in his second successive anonymous performance in all competitions, with Eden Hazard being forced to drop in and pull the strings in his stead.
The Spaniard's form has fallen off recently, and he has a history of disappearing in the second half of seasons, but the big question is, why?
No one can put their finger on it, but it's true: The Opta statistics show a dramatic decline in effectiveness in games after Christmas. Something for Jose Mourinho to solve...
Winner: Shane Long, Who Impressed on His Big Chance
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With Graziano Pelle exhausted and unable to make a difference in the final third, it was time for Shane Long to come in to try his hand up front.
It was a start awarded because Ronald Koeman didn't have much of a choice, but Long performed well and did enough to likely chalk himself in for another appearance in the XI versus Burnley at home next weekend.
His link-up play was superb, he moved the ball quickly and engineered chances for Sadio Mane and Co. Overall, a fresh outlook up front allowed Saints to have a great first half, and only the profligacy of some—namely Mane and Dusan Tadic—kept them from taking a lead into the break.
