The signs were there even before kick-off. And one came from a mascot.

The two teams were lined up in the tunnel and a young boy wearing the Southampton home strip caught the stare of Chelsea’s captain Cesar Azpilicueta. He took his chance.

Sticking a thumb on his nose and waggling his fingers, the mascot let Azpilicueta know, in no uncertain terms, what was coming.

This young Southampton mascot has mocked César Azpilicueta here! 😆🤣

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) August 30, 2022

Azpilicueta tried to shake it off and smiled, but soon stepped onto St Mary’s disease-ridden pitch, caused by a fungus problem that left lumps of grass dislodged and turf easily cut up.

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Compared to the last time Chelsea were in town, when Southampton rolled over and had their belly rubbed in the second half and still lost 6-0, their approach on Tuesday evening was stark.

Ibrahima Diallo’s return to the side amplified the team’s functional set-up, with Ralph Hasenhuttl keen for three midfield shuttlers. James Ward-Prowse started in an unfamiliar No 10 role, a position he had not played since he was scrabbling around for a place in the team and was reduced to plugging holes.

“We changed the shape into a 4-2-3-1,” Hasenhuttl explained to The Athletic after. “We had two very dynamic No 6s and Prowsey in the No 10 role. You know he always does the work of two players.

“It was important to have the workload on these three positions. When you have this, you can put pressure on them and you don’t have to defend so deep.”

Out of possession, Ward-Prowse screened passes into Chelsea’s central conduit, Jorginho. With the ball, Ward-Prowse supported from behind, seizing upon Che Adams’ clever, if occasionally obvious, shoulder barges and hold-up play, which clearly perturbed Chelsea’s ageing centre-backs.

When Jorginho did receive the ball, Ward-Prowse would snap at his heels. Diallo and Romeo Lavia, meanwhile, did not think twice about picking Jorginho’s pocket.

Ward-Prowse made the most fouls of any player in the first half (four) and left the Italian, his hair usually patted to one side and beard trimmed to inch perfection, chasing referee Michael Oliver down the tunnel at half-time. Granted, his ire was provoked after Adams kicked the ball in his face while already on the floor, but the incident came to illustrate how badly shaken Chelsea were.

All of this helped to establish a foothold in the game having fallen behind and execute a key staple of Hasenhuttl’s “SFC Playbook” — “angles of pressure.”

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This is when Southampton attempt to get as many players around the opponent in possession as quickly as possible, approaching from different angles and causing visible suffocation.

Shown in their average positioning below, Hasenhuttl had a clutch of white shirts across the halfway line and all close to each other. This maximised their press and counter-press all evening, preying on loose touches and any slight mistake.

With Diallo (No 27), Ward-Prowse (No 8) and Lavia (No 45) flooding midfield, at least one of the two wide players would shuffle across to condense Chelsea centrally. A four versus two would form, trapping Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in areas Harry Houdini would struggle to escape from.

Raheem Sterling’s opener was a by-product of Southampton’s lukewarm start, where they were being caught on transition due to a lack of pressure on the ball. But as has been the theme during August, they grew in numbers and energy.

Chelsea could not play out and their supply to the front line became limited. Southampton, juggernaut-like, became stronger and tested Chelsea’s frailties. Lavia pounced on Azpilicueta’s miskick to level before Ward-Prowse’s cute positioning, carved out by his No 10 position, switched the play for Romain Perraud to cross to Adam Armstrong, who scored his first goal since last November.

With Jorginho gasping for air and some — any — form of respite, Mateo Kovacic was left exposed in midfield. Once through the pair, Southampton would run at the two centre-backs with a combined age of 68. It was not clean, but it was certainly effective. By this point, they were too fresh and too strong — as much a coup for Southampton as it was an indictment of Chelsea.

Ward-Prowse kept making fouls and picked up a yellow card in pained efforts to stop Hakim Ziyech on the counter. Lavia came off clutching his hamstring, but Joe Aribo picked up where he left off, running either side of substitute Kovacic, who had been tasked with manning the midfield fort after Loftus-Cheek and Jorginho were sent on their way.

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Gavin Bazunu’s kicking length is regarded as a key attribute and over the last two games — he has been taking every free kick inside the Southampton half. Adams kept on thudding into the sides of Kalidou Koulibaly and Thiago Silva. Diallo, having been one of the players available for sale in the final week of the window, then provoked Christian Pulisic into a yellow card for a gentle tug of the shirt and kicking the ball away in a manner that seemed consumed by frustration.

Southampton’s mascot must have been nodding his head in validation. In the 94th minute, he would have turned his neck from one side of the pitch to the other and witnessed Ward-Prowse, the unrelenting — verging on animalistic — running machine, chewing up the ground from the edge of his own box to Chelsea’s. He contested for a bouncing ball, knocking Marc Cucurella onto what was left of the grass.

The full-time whistle blew and Adams collapsed to the turf. Hasenhuttl shook his water bottle with joy before hauling Adams onto his feet. Southampton, again, had got stronger in the second half and dispelled their manager’s previous reservations over energy efficiency.

As supporters emptied the stadium, ABBA’s Money, Money, Money played over the tannoy. It was as much a coincidence as the mascot drawing his hand away from Azpilicueta.

Southampton came from behind to win for the second time this season, meaning all seven of their points have been salvaged from losing positions. And in doing so, they provided the clearest testament yet of their will.

(Top photo: Robin Jones/Getty Images)