Chelsea player ratings: Levi Colwill steps up when needed...

CHELSEA reverted to winning ways as they smashed Southampton 4-0 at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella set the Blues on their way to victory. It ended a run of three straight defeats in all competitions.

Image Credit: The Sun [Christopher Nkunku inflating a blue balloon after scoring a goal.]

Chelsea had lost twice to Brighton, including once in the FA Cup, before suffering a late defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday. And victory came after fans held a protest on the Fulham Road, with banners taking aim at Todd Boehly and BlueCo. The result saw Chelsea move back into fourth to keep their Champions League dream alive.

Image Credit: The Sun [Levi Colwill of Chelsea celebrates a goal with a teammate.]

Just four points separate them from 10th-place Villa. And Chelsea will be hoping to build some momentum in their next games against Copenhagen and Leicester. But who was Chelsea’s best player on the night?. Was there someone on the bench who did enough to impress boss Enzo Maresca?.

Image Credit: The Sun [Chelsea vs. Southampton match stats graphic.]

BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS. And did anyone have a game to forget despite the result?. Here, SunSport's Lloyd Canfield delivers his Chelsea player ratings against Southampton…. He's no Petr Cech or Thibaut Courtois, but he recovered from his Villa Park howler with a clean sheet against the Saints.

Image Credit: The Sun [Chelsea starting XI vs Southampton.]

Fans are still not convinced by the Dane, and groans echoed around the ground when he got the ball at his feet - though they were grateful for him when he made a cat-like save to deny Onuachu in the first half. If you gave them a chance they'd probably take on-loan Petrovic back from Strasbourg, the Serbian stopper has three clean sheets in his last three - typical.

Image Credit: The Sun [Filip Jørgensen's Chelsea vs. Southampton game stats: 40 touches, 36 passes, 0 goals conceded, 2 saves, 90 minutes played, 0 high claims.]

Put in a fantastic challenge on Sulemana early in the second half, which was symbolic of his aggression on the right side of defence tonight. Defended well throughout the game, but perhaps could've offered more from an attacking point of view as Reece James often does.

Image Credit: The Sun [Pass map showing Filip Jørgensen's 31 completed passes and 5 incomplete passes.]

Chelsea will be pleased to see him improved though as two performing right-backs in this side is essential. 'Uncle Tosin' as he is affectionately known in the dressing room, was imperious in the air at the back for the Blues. He rose highest to flick the ball on to Christopher Nkunku as Maresca's men opened the scoring in the first half, as well as saving Chelsea at the back early on in the game.

Image Credit: The Sun [Malo Gusto's Chelsea vs. Southampton game stats: 80 touches, 66 passes, 2 tackles, 1 foul conceded, 3 duels won, 3 dispossessed.]

His second half showing was equally as solid, and he has been a more than important signing from local rivals Fulham this campaign. Marking 6ft 7inch giant Paul Onuachu is no easy feat no matter how good you are, but Chelsea's own Levi Colwill did that job pretty well.

Image Credit: The Sun [Heat map of Malo Gusto v. Sotón soccer game.]

It was a necessary assured performance from the man touted as a future club captain after a few sloppy showings. He stepped into his challenges brilliantly and scored a powerful header to add a third to Chelsea's tally in the first half. Chelsea's pantomime villain has made the inverted fullback role his own under Enzo Maresca, and is one of the best in the Premier League at doing that job.

Image Credit: The Sun [Tosin Adarabioyo's Chelsea vs. Southampton game stats: 87 touches, 74 passes, 1 tackle, 90 mins played, 7 duels won, 5 duels lost.]

Intercepted numerous Southampton passes into midfield and progresses the Blues so well down the left, playing a vital role in Chelsea's second goal doing exactly that. Topped off an almost perfect night with a fantastic finish into the bottom right corner to totally kill the game off.

Image Credit: The Sun [Touch map of Tosin Adarabioyo v. Sotoon.]

Gets a bonus point for his penguin celebration... A pretty regular night by his standards, though the standards of a £115m midfielder are pretty lofty. The Ecuadorian was combative in midfield, working tirelessly to consistently win the ball back in Chelsea's midfield as N'Golo Kante once did before him.

Image Credit: The Sun [Levi Colwill's Chelsea vs. Southampton game stats: 94 touches, 79 passes, 2 tackles, 1 foul conceded, 5 duels won, 1 goal.]

While he is controlled on the ball and looks more than comfortable with it at his feet, it is his off-the-ball work which really sets him apart from other defensive mids in this league. Probably Chelsea's most creative player in the first half, Enzo played a deeper role than he has the past two games and was arguably robbed of two assists by Cole Palmer.

Image Credit: The Sun [Pass map showing Levi Colwill's 76 completed passes and 3 incomplete passes against Southampton.]

The Argentine was Chelsea's midfield metronome, setting the tempo for his side and keeping attacks flowing smoothly throughout. His only criticism would be a tendency to take one too many touches and occasionally slow down promising breaks for his side.

Image Credit: The Sun [Marc Cucurella's Chelsea vs. Southampton game stats: 87 touches, 59 passes, 6 tackles, 1 foul conceded, 8 duels won, 1 goal.]

A pretty quiet showing from him on the right wing tonight, with Nkunku occupying his usual spot on the left. Had a few flashes of good footwork as he always does, and wasn't bad by any means but it didn't look like the electric Jadon Sancho we saw when he first joined.

Image Credit: The Sun [Heat map of Marc Cucurella v Soton.]

He will surely welcome the return of Nicolas Jackson or Marc Guiu when they are back, as he looked a little lost without a real target to aim for with crosses into the box. It's tough to write this, but it looks as though Cole Palmer has gone well and truly off the boil at the moment.

Image Credit: The Sun [Moisés Caicedo's player statistics vs. Southampton: 61 touches, 53 passes, 2 tackles, 1 foul conceded, 2 duels won, 3 duels lost.]

The usually ever-reliable goal scorer missed THREE huge first-half chances which could've seen his side 6-0 up at half-time, and looked devoid of confidence after rolling the third wide. There is no doubt among fans that he will be back, as they sung his name loud and proud, but it looks like he's in need of one of those moments of magic to re-ignite the spark in that fantastic left foot of his.