Chelsea routs Southampton 4-0 on frustrating night for Cole Palmer. Brighton and Palace win

Chelsea wasn't so reliant on Cole Palmer this time.

On a frustrating evening for the England star, his Chelsea teammates stepped up — as demanded by their manager — to share the goals in a 4-0 thrashing of last-place Southampton in the Premier League on Tuesday.

Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella were the scorers as Chelsea ended a three-match losing run by beating a team destined to go down, perhaps as one of the worst-performing teams to ever play in the Premier League. Southampton has just nine points from 27 games.

As for Palmer, he will wonder how he didn't get on the score sheet and add to his 14 league goals so far this season.

The best of his many opportunities at Stamford Bridge came midway through the first half when he was played clean through one-on-one with Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. He delayed and delayed and then shot too close to Ramsdale, who parried the effort away.

After wasting another chance in the second half, Palmer appeared to laugh at himself.

Palmer is on his driest run since joining Chelsea from Manchester City in September 2023. He hasn't scored in seven games now.

On the eve of the match against Southampton, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said Palmer's dip in productivity has probably arisen because “we rely on him for everything.”

Maresca returned to that same theme after the game.

“He has to continue to work, continue to be happy, continue to laugh they way he does,” the coach said. “We are completely happy with him. It is normal to go through a moment where you struggle to score but it doesn’t matter. Just continue and you are going to score many goals.”

Chelsea climbed to fourth place in the standings. The Premier League is likely to get five qualification berths for next season's Champions League.

Bournemouth is a more unlikely contender for Champions League qualification, its ambitions boosted by an 11-match unbeaten run in the league from late November to the end of January.

However, the unheralded south-coast club has now lost three of its last four league matches, the latest being a 2-1 reverse at Brighton after Danny Welbeck scored the 75th-minute winner — three minutes after coming off the bench.

Justin Kluivert had equalized for Bournemouth in the 61st, canceling out Joao Pedro's 12th-minute opener from the penalty spot after he was fouled by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Bournemouth started the match in sixth place — one point behind fifth — but dropped to seventh and has now been joined on 43 points by Brighton, another improbable candidate for Champions League qualification.

It was a fourth straight win in all competitions for Brighton since a 7-0 loss at Nottingham Forest.

Crystal Palace beat Aston Villa 4-1 at home, with Ismaila Sarr scoring twice for the hosts in a match watched by England men's coach Thomas Tuchel.

Jean-Philippe Mateta and Eddie Nketiah also netted for Palace, with Morgan Rogers replying for Villa.

Fulham won 2-1 at Wolverhampton thanks to a goal in the first minute by Ryan Sessegnon and a winner by Rodrigo Muniz.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge, London, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Joao Gomes, right, scores their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

Fulham's Ryan Sessegnon scores their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, England, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Jacob King/PA via AP)

Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa at Selhurst Park, London, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, left, celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game with teammate Leon Bailey during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa at Selhurst Park, London, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa at Selhurst Park, London, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

England manager Thomas Tuchel in the stands ahead of the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, at Selhurst Park, London, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2025. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)

Brighton and Hove Albion's Joao Pedro scores his side's first goal of the game from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and AFC Bournemouth, at American Express Stadium, Brighton, England, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2025. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match at American Express Stadium, Brighton, England, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

Brighton and Hove Albion's Joao Pedro, center, celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game with team-mates during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Hove Albion and AFC Bournemouth, at American Express Stadium, Brighton, England, Tuesday Feb. 25, 2025. (Steven Paston/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Pedro Neto, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring their side's second goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge, London, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Cole Palmer, left, and Southampton's Will Smallbone battle for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge, London, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Southampton at Stamford Bridge, London, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)