Southampton grab draw at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea struggled to break down a resolute Southampton as both sides settled for a 0-0 Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Eden Hazard spurned the best opening of the first half when he fired at Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn, who was making his Premier League debut.

Chelsea continued to labour after half-time, with Alvaro Morata having a goal ruled out in the 71st minute after a tight offside call and then seeing a shot saved by Gunn.

The result sees Chelsea remain fourth but drop points on London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, both of whom won on Tuesday evening, as well as Manchester United who won on Wednesday, while Ralph Hasenhuttl´s side slip into the relegation zone.

Maurizio Sarri: "The match was under control with the ball possession and the opportunities, but it's very difficult to create a lot of opportunities if you are not able to score the first goal. If you are able to score then you can find spaces and it's easier to create a lot of opportunities. They were really very compact and it wasn't easy. You need to score the first goal otherwise it's very difficult. We are in trouble only in the last 20 metres, I think for 80 metres we played a very good match."

Ralph Hasenhuttl: "We made the right decision on Sunday to change so many players against Manchester City. We knew if we wanted to have a chance against Chelsea we had to put seven or eight fresh players on the pitch otherwise it's not possible to defend for 95 minutes and I think we did a good job."