Ed Brand’s side were looking to make a positive impression on the rest of the competition as holders, having won last year’s competition by beating west London rivals Fulham in the final.

Our young Blues had the first big chance of the game as Travis Akomeah nodded against the crossbar from a Frankie Runham corner.

Five minutes later we should have had a penalty after Louis Flower had been fouled in the box, but the referee seemed to let play carry on and the resulting shot forced a good save from keeper Mohammed Adli.

Despite our good start, the young Saints took the lead through Sonnie Davis as he fired into the net.

Quickly after, intense pressure on keeper Max Merrick forced an error and Jimmy Morgan pounced to double their lead.

Runham went close with an effort, but Adli made a fine save to prevent our young Blues from scoring.

Brand made a triple change to begin the second half and one of the substitutes Brodie Hughes had a long-range effort from 20 yards out saved well by the impressive Adli.

Five minutes into the second period Sam Rak-Sakyi had a shot from the edge of the box which struck the post.

There were numerous occasions where Chelsea had the territorial advantage over our opponents, but we struggled to find the goal to halve the deficit and give us a chance to make a comeback.

Southampton sealed the win two minutes from time as Morgan grabbed his second with a shot inside the box.

An undeserved loss to begin our Premier League Cup defence but our young Blues will look to bounce back from this defeat.

Academy news

Tyler Dibling has left the club after it was mutually agreed to end his scholarship contract. The young midfielder came off the bench in last week's 2-2 draw against Southampton.

We wish him all the best.