Demba Ba Scores Twice in Chelsea Debut

Demba Ba scored two goals Saturday in his debut for Chelsea. (Sang Tan)

Controversy surrounded Stamford Bridge following Chelsea's shocking defeat to last-place QPR. The Blues just wanted to put the disappointment behind them. On Friday, they completed their acquisition of Senegalese striker Demba Ba, who came over in a transfer from Newcastle. As it turned out, he was exactly the remedy they were looking for.

Ba got his first run just about 24 hours later. Chelsea, the current FA Cup holders, began their defense of the trophy on Saturday at Southampton. Ba's arrival allowed manager Rafa Benitez to fellow striker Fernando Torres a day off after his recent heavy workload. He decided to give Ba the start in his place.

Chelsea came out confident, but surprisingly it was the home side that struck first. In the 22nd minute, Southampton took advantage on the counter. Jason Puncheon's pass found Jay Rodriguez in space. Rodriguez made the most of it as he was able to chip the ball past the charging Ross Turnbull.

Chelsea had the answer though. Juan Mata was the one that challenged the Southampton defense. He sidestepped his defender and put the ball past Artur Boruc. The ball was headed towards the net and Ba beat Steven Davis to provide the final touch into the net. Just like that, Ba had a goal in his debut for the Blues.

In the waning stoppage time of the first half, Chelsea struck again. Ashley Cole was able to cut the ball back to Victor Moses, was able to finish it on a half-volley. Seven minutes into the second half, the Blues netted another when Mata's cross found Branislav Ivanovic for a simple header.

Ba was rewarded for his excellent movement throughout the match. He was on the receiving end of a pass from Eden Hazard in the box. Ba was able to fend off Southampton captain Jose Fonte to bury it past Boruc. He looked set to complete a hat trick, but was denied by the Polish goalkeeper.

With seven minutes left in the match, Frank Lampard drew a penalty kick on a foul by Davis. He buried to put the icing on Chelsea's 5-1 rout of Southampton. Lampard joins Kerry Dixon at second on the all-time Chelsea goal scorer list with 193 goals. He is ten away from overtaking Bobby Tambling to become the most prolific marksman in club history.

The contrast between Ba and Torres is a pleasant surprise for Chelsea supporters. While it took the Spaniard 14 games to score his first goal for the Blues, he watched as the newcomer buried two in his debut. The goals are not the only difference either. Ba's movement and understanding of the game were far superior to Torres' form of late.

"It is always important for a striker to score goals but Ba's movement and understanding of the team was really impressive as well," said Benitez. "It is important for the team to have different options in attack and Ba gives us that."