It was only 18 minutes and the careless, injury-time concession, costing Chelsea another two points, put a dampener on such a long-awaited debut but Hakim Ziyech still showed glimpses of why there is such excitement about his arrival to the Premier League.
The Moroccan sent in a sublime outswinging corner that Kai Havertz headed over and another cross with his left after cutting in from the right. Perhaps the most exciting thing is how many options Chelsea now have when delivering from wide areas - including Reece James and Chilwell.
---
Ben Chilwell has hardly put a foot wrong in his two league starts since joining from Leicester City but what perhaps stood out most yesterday is how he is always an outlet for his team-mates.
The left back has a real knack for finding extra space and if he continues to make such an impact going forward those who doubted he was worth £45million may quickly be silenced.
---
Mateo Kovacic was a notable absentee from the matchday squad yesterday but he was at Stamford Bridge and not injured as he took a full part in the warm down for substitutes - including a series of sprints.
Frank Lampard named both Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud on the bench and Reece James ended up coming on as midfield cover. It was an odd decision that perhaps proved costly considering how Southampton took full control of the midfield in the second period.
For the second game running Chelsea were kept waiting by their visitors. Southampton emerged slowly for the second period and Ralph Hasenhuttl, their head coach, apologised when he appeared before his players.
The Austrian signalled that the temporary away dressing room being used at Stamford Bridge for social distancing purposes is a long walk from the pitch. "10km. Unbelievable. I'm the fittest one here," he said as he reached the dugout before his players had reappeared. "Sorry Frank."
He seemed a lot less apologetic at full time.
