Harry Kane is out of sorts, Joe Hart soars before being floored, and Stoke must choose between youth and experience up front
While Southampton will take something from getting this far in the world’s most celebrated domestic cup competition there are other, more pressing priorities, such as making a late dash for safety in the Premier League. Can they take any hope from their performance? Not from the first half. Olivier Giroud’s goal at the beginning of the second period forced Mark Hughes to change things, however, and it was to his team’s benefit. A 3-5-2 became a 3-4-3 and suddenly Charlie Austin was getting service. Southampton will feel they could and should have had an equaliser before Chelsea settled the game, with Austin the likely outlet. The substitutes Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond, meanwhile, were assertive and threatening. Southampton need that level of performance again, from the first whistle, against Bournemouth next weekend. Paul MacInnes
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