Substitute Olivier Giroud inspired Chelsea to a 3-2 comeback triumph at St Mary's which dealt a big blow to Southampton's Premier League survival hopes.

Chelsea 1 West Ham 1: Antonio Conte’s damning and withering verdict of Chelsea’s performance as they threw away two points against West Ham has left even more question marks hanging over his future - with any hope of Champions League football next season now looking forlorn.

Three goals from across that spectrum between ‘sublime’ and ‘ridiculous’ gave Tottenham their first away victory over Chelsea in almost 30 years, and allayed any fears that the Premier League champions might catch their London rivals in the race for continental qualification.

Chelsea produced the kind of attacking performance in Europe that Manchester United fans were screaming for 24 hours earlier, but found centurion Lionel Messi was still too good for them, as they lost 3-0 in the Nou Camp in what was the harshest of Champions League lessons.

Man United 2 - Chelsea 1: Antonio Conte may have seen his long-running feud with Jose Mourinho come to an end at Old Trafford but it may also have been the afternoon when the Chelsea manager saw his team’s hopes of a Champions League place similarly disappear into thin air.

Romelu Lukaku inspired Manchester United to a comeback win against former club Chelsea as Jose Mourinho got the better of Antonio Conte.

Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1 

Lionel Messi broke his goal duck against Chelsea to deny Antonio Conte's side a crucial lead over Barcelona in their Champions League showdown.

Olivier Giroud’s presence on the sidelines provided confirmation Antonio Conte had got the new striker he wanted during the January transfer window.

A few big-money Premier League transfers are expected to go through before deadline day.

Chelsea 3 Newcastle United 0: The Sunday newspapers may have made difficult reading for Chelsea and their Italian manager but the chants of ‘Antonio, Antonio’ ringing around Stamford Bridge during a routine 3-0 FA Cup fourth round victory over Newcastle suggest it is too early to write off Antonio Conte’s future in west London just yet. Transfer deadline day, mind you, looks likely to provide a better barometer.

Michy Batshuayi scored twice as Chelsea marched on in the FA Cup with a 3-0 win over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal 2 Chelsea (Arsenal win 2-1 on aggregate)

Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0: The frustration felt by Arsene Wenger as his Arsenal side struggled in the face of intense Chelsea pressure was intensified by the manager being forced to watch from the unfamiliar surroundings of the press box.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere claims a new gluten-free diet has put him in the best shape of his career.

Arsene Wenger described the penalty Arsenal conceded in Wednesday night's 2-2 draw with Chelsea as "farcical".

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 2: So much for the Premier League schedule killing players.

The January transfer window has not yet opened and already a huge deal has been agreed, with Virgil van Dijk heading from Southampton to Liverpool for what is understood to be £75million, the highest price ever paid for a defender.

The flimsy nature of our squad is beginning to make itself evident with a number of laboured performances.

Striker Alvaro Morata is suspended but left wing-back Marcos Alonso is back from a ban when Chelsea play at Everton.

Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku has played the most football of any Premier League player this season going into the festive schedule.

Antonio Conte says time is running out in the title pursuit, even if Manchester City slip up, and said the clear leaders had been lucky with late goals.

Willian scored one and made two others as Chelsea finally turned in a display worthy of Premier League champions to win 3-1 at Huddersfield.

Chelsea finished second in Champions League Group C after rallying to draw 1-1 with Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge.

Mohamed Salah returned to haunt former club Chelsea but Liverpool were denied a hugely significant victory as Willian conjured an equaliser out of nothing at Anfield.

Antonio Conte hopes Chelsea can replicate last season's 13-game winning streak in the Premier League, but acknowledges even that may be not enough to overhaul Manchester City.

...but a bad one for Huddersfield and Swansea.

Roma 3 Chelsea 0: Chelsea crumbled last night as Roma moved to the top of Champions League Group C with a 3-0 victory at Stadio Olimpico last night.

Chelsea crumbled as Roma moved to the top of Champions League Group C with a 3-0 victory at Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night.

Real Madrid are said to be plotting a £150m move for Harry Kane next summer, according to the papers.

Atletico Madrid 1 Chelsea 2: Alvaro Morata and Michy Batshuayi proved there is life after Diego Costa as Chelsea fought back to win 2-1 at Atletico Madrid last night.

Costa, whose return to Atletico was completed on Tuesday, watched on as Chelsea responded from David Luiz's needless concession of a penalty scored by Antoine Griezmann.

Chelsea 6 FK Qarabag 0: Chelsea will face tougher tests than this, a stroll in cruise control against Champions League rookies Qarabag, but the Blues are back in the big time and showed how much they want to reprise their 2012 triumph.

Thibaut Courtois has warned Tottenham that opposing teams will raise their game at Wembley - and also poked fun at the lack of atmosphere at their temporary home.

They are supposed to be embroiled in yet another ‘crisis’ at Stamford Bridge, but a dramatic victory over London rivals Tottenham at Wembley, inspired by two-goal Marcos Alonso, showed pretty emphatically that the Chelsea spirit is very much alive, even in the post-John Terry era.

Tottenham's first league game at Wembley has ended in disappointment.

Antonio Conte expects this season to be his most difficult in management.

If there was any tension remaining in the title race — and let’s be honest there wasn’t a lot — Chelsea’s comfortable victory over Middlesbrough has seen it totally evaporate and opened up an opportunity for Antonio Conte’s side to be crowned champions at West Brom on Friday before rivals Tottenham even kick a ball again.

Everton 0 Chelsea 3: This is how champions do it. Chelsea’s trip to Goodison Park was considered the most difficult of their remaining fixtures, yet they tackled it with a professionalism to make Tottenham hearts sink.

Chelsea have dealt Tottenham Hotspur a second painful blow in the space of four days as they followed an FA Cup semi-final victory over their rivals with a Deigo Costa-inspired 4-2 win against Southampton which extends their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points.

Diego Costa ended his lean streak with a double as Premier League leaders Chelsea beat Southampton 4-2 to restore their seven-point advantage over Tottenham.

Antonio Conte is seeking a new captain for Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final with Tottenham today as John Terry faces being a substitute at best despite the enforced absence of Gary Cahill.