Chelsea Squash Southampton as Abraham Shines Through (4-1)

Chelsea closed in on the Premier League's top four after striker Tammy Abraham scored his eighth league goal of the season to help them secure a 4-1 win over weak Southampton on Sunday after an excellent first half performance.

The win helped Chelsea moved into fifth place with 14 points from eight games, behind fourth-place holders Leicester on goal difference, while Southampton stayed 16th on seven points, one point above the relegation zone.

Abraham, the league's current top scorer alongside Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, fired Chelsea ahead in the 17th minute after making use of a clever pass from Callum Hudson-Odoi and looped his shot over advancing keeper Angus Gunn.

"It's been fantastic, I give it to my team mates and my manager - everyone who has been behind me," the 22-year-old striker told Sky Sports.

"When you play with great players you get your chances. It was an important first goal for us, Southampton started brightly. At 2-0 they scored and we did well to stop their momentum."

Mount doubled Chelsea's lead in the 24th minute when he blasted his shot past Gunn from eight metres before Danny Ings pulled one back for the Southampton.

However, defensive miscommunication from the Southampton defense allowed Chelsea to restore their two-goal advantage shortly before halftime, when Kante's fierce shot from outside the penalty area took a deflection off Pierre Hojbjerg.

The pace dropped in the second half as Chelsea packed their midfield before late substitute Batshuayi, who came on for Abraham ended the match with the fourth and final goal in the 89th-minute.

Although he was happy with the result, Lampard warned his players to always keep their guard. "Let's not get carried away, it's a long season and we feel we might have picked up more points than we've actually got," the former Chelsea and England midfielder told the BBC.

"We've not been at our absolute best and we can be a lot better. We shouldn't be sloppy, at 2-0 we should go 3-0. We're scoring goals, great, but can we tighten up? Yes."