Chelsea bounce back after three straight defeats with 4-0 win over struggling Southampton

Chelsea broke back into the Premier League’s top four with a 4-0 win over Southampton to end a run of three straight defeats.

The Blues got going early through Christopher Nkunku inside the opening 25 minutes, bagging his 14th goal of the season which makes him the team’s t-top scorer alongside Cole Palmer in all competitions.

The Frenchman brought out his famous balloon celebration at Stamford Bridge for the first time in the Premier League this season, taking his record to 22 goals and assists in 19 starts for the club.

Pedro Neto doubled Chelsea’s lead after 36 minutes before Levi Colwill made it three on the stroke of half-time, putting Enzo Maresca’s side in the driving seat and all the second period required was to activate cruise control.

Marc Cucurella added a fourth for good measure late on and Chelsea found themselves back in the win column to move ahead of Manchester City in the league table.

The hosts recorded a Premier League clean sheet at Stamford Bridge for just the second time this season, coming at a crucial time for under fire boss Maresca.

The Italian manager described last weekend’s loss against Aston Villa as the toughest of the campaign so far and the team reacted accordingly to get back on the right path.

Cole Palmer took his tally of chances created to 69 on the season, which is the best in the league, but he has now surprisingly gone 14 outings without an assist.

WATCH: Chelsea 4-0 Southampton Highlights

As per the best football betting sites, Chelsea are an odds-on price of 5/6 to finish in the top four this season and confirm their return to the Champions League.

On the other hand, Southampton can be backed at 1/100 for relegation and it won’t be long before the Saints officially drop back into the Championship.