Chelsea lost 4-1 to Brighton at the Amex stadium, with Graham Potter suffering his first loss in charge of the Blues at the home of his former club.
Brighton started fast, Leandro Trossard scoring after five minutes after rounding Kepa Arrizabalaga and finishing after a mistake from Thiago Silva.
Brighton doubled their lead in the 14th minute after a Solly March corner landed at the feet of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the Englishman inadvertently directing the ball into his own net for 2-0.
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Brighton went 3-0 up just before half time, a cross from Pervis Estupinan forcing another Chelsea own goal, this time from Trevoh Chalobah.
After the break, Edouard Mendy replaced Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal for his first appearance under Potter, and soon after, Kai Havertz headed a Conor Gallagher cross past Robert Sanchez to reduce the deficit.
Chelsea pushed to further reduce the Seagulls lead, but Pascal Gross scored a fourth late on, after a Julio Enciso shot was saved by Mendy, with the German scoring the rebound. The result leaves Chelsea in fifth, with Brighton climbing to seventh after their first Premier League victory over The Blues.
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Here are five things Absolute Chelsea learned from Saturday’s game at Brighton.
1) Chelsea punished for errors and team selection
The most notable problem in Chelsea’s first half performance was that the defence was all over the place. Brighton’s attacking players found space in behind the back five on multiple occasions in the first half. Chelsea looked vulnerable in the first half against a Brighton team that started very quickly. After going 1-0 down so early on, The Blues never seemed to recover and were caught out time and time again on the counter attack, where Brighton’s pace left Chelsea’s defence wanting.
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2) Raheem Sterling needs to step up
Raheem Sterling’s Chelsea career started with such promise after his summer move from Manchester City. Now, after seven games without a goal, it looks as though he is struggling with confidence. Considering his experience playing at the highest level, both on the international stage, you would think that he’d be able to take difficult situations in his stride and continue from where he left off at City, for whom he scored 13 league goals for last season. Sterling has played in many different positions so far under Graham Potter, but his impact on the games has decreased in recent weeks, and his spot in the starting lineup may be under pressure.
3) A return to forget for Marc Cucurella
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Playing against his former club, this was a chance for the Spaniard to show Brighton what they had been missing, but after watching his performance today, they must have thought they got the better deal of the two clubs. He was run ragged by Leandro Trossard for the entirety of the first half. Cucurella was substituted in the 64th minute, with Ben Chilwell replacing him. Not a happy return to the Amex for the left back, and after looking so weak defensively and passive going forward, he could find himself behind the Englishman in the pecking order from now on.
4) Jorginho and Kovacic pivot was missed
Against RB Salzburg on Tuesday night, Chelsea controlled possession of the game, with Mateo Kovacic being allowed to control the tempo of play next to Jorginho in midfield. Without the Italian international next to him in midfield, the team looked unbalanced and struggled to regain control of the match in the first half after going behind. A cool head such as Jorginho would have been perfect to attempt to regain some control of a match that wasn’t going Chelsea’s way, but Potter decided not to use him.
5) A learning curve for Graham Potter on disappointing Brighton return
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After a solid start in charge for Graham Potter at Chelsea, today seemed to be a reality check for how much work still needs to be done at the club. Some may compare this result to the 5-2 defeat that Thomas Tuchel suffered against West Brom which ended his unbeaten start in 2021. Potter won’t be as concerned as much about the defeat, but rather the nature of the defeat. The Blues were widely outplayed in the first half, and Potter will need to go back to the drawing board to ensure this type of lacklustre performance doesn't happen again.
Topics: Brighton And Hove Albion, Chelsea, Premier League, Football
Daniel Nuttman