THOMAS Tuchel has revealed Chelsea's "relief" at Timo Werner scoring his first Premier League goal since February.

Werner tapped in Cesar Azpilicueta's cross with the goal that effectively sealed Chelsea's 3-1 win over 10-man Saints at Stamford Bridge.

Ben Chilwell then fired in a late third to atone for conceding a penalty that was converted by James Ward-Prowse to tee up a tense finale.

Ward-Prowse was later sent off for a late tackle on Jorginho, and Chelsea pounced on the numerical advantage to move top of the Premier League table.

Werner has seen a league-high 16 goals disallowed since joining Chelsea in 2020, the latest of which came in the first half against Saints.

Tuchel hailed Werner for his persistence, but also admitted the Germany striker must still improve.

"Yes we are all relieved, him and me and the whole club," said Tuchel. "Every time he scores we have the feeling there is a VAR decision to take it away from him, there have been a lot of very narrow decisions.

"I remember one against Liverpool that was super close.

"He has to keep on going and a lot of things to improve.

"We're happy and relieved that he scored.

"It was very, very important goal for us to secure the win. And on the other hand he was there when he needed to be."