Chelsea stay fifth in the Premier League standings while Brighton move up to seventh. The Blues face Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League before hosting Arsenal next weekend. Brighton travel to Wolves for their next game in the league.
Brighton started the game at an incredible pace and forced Silva into two clearances off the line before Trossard opened the scoring in the fifth minute. He rounded Kepa before shooting past Cucurella on the line. Loftus-Cheek then scored Chelsea’s first own goal of the half after turning home March’s corner in the 14th minute. Sanchez was forced into some brilliant saves, the most notable being from a Gallagher header, but Brighton then struck a third before the break as Chalobah tuned Estupinan’s cross into his own net. Havertz quickly pulled a goal back at the start of the second half as he headed home following a perfect cross from Gallagher. Chelsea pushed for more goals but to no avail and Gross finished the game off in added time as he scored from a rebound, after Mendy saved two shots from Enciso, to make it 4-1.
90' + 5' FULL-TIME: BRIGHTON 4-1 CHELSEA
P. Groß
Goal
90' + 2' GOALLL!!! 4-1! GROSS! Brighton end any chance of a Chelsea comeback as Gross scores a fourth for the hosts! Mendy makes two saves to stop Enciso from scoring but Gross is quickest to the second rebound! Game over!
90' + 2' Mount whips in a corner but Brighton clear the ball away from danger.
90' There will be a minimum of five additional minutes.
89' March is back up and able to continue for Brighton.
89' March is down on the pitch and receiving treatment from the physios.
J. Sarmiento
L. Trossard
87' Goalscorer Trossard makes way for Sarmiento as De Zerbi looks to secure his first win as Brighton manager.
85' Brighton are not taking any risks when they have the ball and making sure if they lose possession, it is near the Chelsea goal.
J. Enciso
Yellow Card
83' Enciso receives a yellow card after giving away a free-kick deep in his own half.
83' Chelsea are more comfortable in possession when coming forward now as Brighton are not pressing as high as they previously were.
81' Brighton are sitting a lot deeper in their own half as Chelsea push a lot more bodies forward.
A. Broja
C. Pulišić
79' Pulisic comes off for Broja as Chelsea now have three strikers on the pitch.
H. Ziyech
C. Gallagher
79' Ziyech replaces Gallagher as Chelsea push a for at least a point in this game.
78' CHANCE WASTED! Enciso dribbles past Chalobah and is joined by Trossard for a two-on-two against Silva and Mendy. He takes too long to make up his mind and scuffs his shot.
77' Enciso unleashes a very powerful effort from 25 yards out, but Mendy does well to take the sting out of the shot and catch the ball on the bounce.
75' Trossard is not happy after the referee gives a foul against him and in favour of Loftus-Cheek. The Brighton fans join him in frustration.
T. Lamptey
K. Mitoma
73' Lamptey replaces Mitoma as Brighton look to prioritise defending their lead rather than adding to it.
71' Chelsea are dominating possession in this half and starting to become a bigger threat to this Brighton lead.
69' SAVE! Havertz lays the ball off to Aubameyang on the left wing. The Gabon international then cuts in and tries to curl his shot into the far corner but Sanchez makes a good diving save!
67' Mount is starting to drop a lot deeper for Chelsea to help them move the ball forward against this Brighton midfield.
J. Enciso
A. Lallana
65' Enciso replaces Lallana in the Brighton midfield.
B. Chilwell
Marc Cucurella
64' Chilwell comes on for Cucurella as Chelsea move to a back four.
P. Aubameyang
R. Sterling
63' Aubameyang replaces Sterling to lead the attacking line with Havertz.
62' Havertz does well to chest the ball down in an aerial battle with Webster. He tries to find Sterling with a pass but the ball is gathered by Sanchez.
60' Caicedo is working hard for Brighton at both ends of the pitch. He has completed 90 per cent of his passes so far, made three key passes, been involved in the most duels (six), and gained possession back three times.
58' Havertz drops into the midfield to receive a pass from Gallagher and then turns to drive into the box. He is met by Caicedo when reaching the penalty area and loses the ball.
56' Brighton are starting to press a lot higher now and causing problems for the Chelsea midfield when they go forward.
54' Chelsea are starting this half a lot better than they began the first and Brighton are trying to adjust to the pace the visitors are playing at.
52' The referee warns Caicedo after he needlessly pushes Gallagher to the floor. The Chelsea midfielder is not happy.
R. Sterling
Yellow Card
50' Sterling receives a yellow card after a poor challenge.
K. Havertz
Goal
48' GOALLL!!! 3-1! HAVERTZ! Havertz pulls a goal back for Chelsea early in the second half! Gallagher sends in a good cross and Havertz’s header is too powerful for Sanchez!
C. Gallagher
Assist
48' Loftus-Cheek drives down the right wing before passing back to Gallagher. He then sends in a perfect cross to Havertz, who simply could not miss due to the nature of the pass.
46' March gets the second half underway for Brighton.
É. Mendy
Kepa
46' Mendy replaces Kepa in goal for Chelsea as the Spaniard has an injury.
Brighton have been a level above Chelsea all over the pitch today. The visitor's back three has not been protected at all by the midfield and are being outnumbered constantly by Brighton's front four and full-backs. There will need to be a tactical change from Potter if Chelsea want a result in this game.
Brighton started the game at an incredible pace and forced Silva into two clearances off the line before Trossard opened the scoring in the fifth minute. He rounded Kepa before shooting past Cucurella on the line. Loftus-Cheek then scored Chelsea’s first own goal of the half after turning home March’s corner in the 14th minute. Sanchez was forced into some brilliant saves, the most notable being from a Gallagher header, but Brighton soaked up the pressure and then struck a third before the break as Chalobah turned Estupinan’s cross into his own net.
45' + 1' HALF-TIME: BRIGHTON 3-0 CHELSEA
45' There will be a minimum of one additional minute.
44' Chelsea seem to be bewildered by what is happening in this game as Brighton keep winning their duels.
T. Chalobah
Own Goal
42' GOALLL!!! OWN GOAL CHALOBAH 3-0! Brighton get a third before the break as Chelsea score another own goal! Estupinan is played in behind by Caicedo and drives into the box. He puts in a low cross into the six-yard box where Chalobah slides the ball into his own net!
41' The tempo of the game is slowing down significantly as the half goes on but Chelsea are trying to use it to their advantage and find a goal before the break.
39' Mac Allister takes an in-swinging corner for Brighton and Webster tries to flick the ball to the far post but the ball goes out for a goal kick.
37' Brighton are being far more patient with their attacks now compared to earlier in the game as they look see the half through.
35' Brighton's man-to-man press is causing Chelsea a lot of problems when trying to create an attack as the hosts are not leaving a lot of space to play into.
33' Pulisic and Gallagher combine on the right side before the latter swings in a cross. Mount is the only target in the box but the ball floats over his head.
31' POST! Trossard scoops the ball to March in the box before Caicedo takes over. He takes a touch to create space before shooting but hits the outside of the front post!
30' Brighton are keeping the ball well in possession and frustrating the visitors a lot with their passing.
28' With Havertz, Mount, and Pulisic all floating across the frontline, Chelsea are struggling to build attacks through the middle of the pitch without a constant attacking target in the central striker position.
26' Brighton have never beaten Chelsea in the Premier League in 10 previous meetings (D4 L6), with the last three all ending as draws.
24' Pulisic drives inside and lays the ball off to Kovacic. The Croatian international dribbles to the box, cuts back onto his right foot, and takes a shot. Webster gets his body in the way to block the attempt.
22' Sterling whips in a corner and finds Silva at the back post. The defender heads it back into the middle of the box but Brighton clear their lines.
20' SAVE! Sanchez pulls off a fantastic diving save to his right as Gallagher flicks Sterling's cross to the far post.
18' HUGE SAVE AND MISS! Gallagher receives the ball in the box and takes a touch before shooting, allowing Sanchez to come out and save the shot. The rebound falls to Pulisic, who cannot find the target with his left-footed effort from close range!
16' Chelsea are controlling more the possession but are attacking very slowly. Brighton on the other hand are surging forward when regaining possession and not allowing Chelsea to settle.
R. Loftus-Cheek
Own Goal
14' GOALLL!!! OWN GOAL LOFTUS CHEEK 2-0! March takes a corner for Brighton and the delivery is very dangerous. Loftus-Cheek tries to clear it but it hits the crossbar and goes in! Brighton off to a flying start!
13' It seems like Brighton are playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation now with Trossard leading the line and Estupinan and March playing as full-backs.
M. Kovačić
Yellow Card
11' Kovacic receives the first booking of the game after a very reckless challenge on March.
9' Gallagher tries to put Pulisic in behind and just about gets the pass to the winger. Pulisic takes a touch to beat his marker but Sanchez comes out to claim the ball before he can shoot.
7' Mount wins a corner for Chelsea and takes the set-piece himself. It is poorly taken and Caicedo clears any danger.
K. Mitoma
Assist
5' Mitoma does well to dribble forward with pace and find Trossard with a perfectly timed pass. The Belgian international makes no mistake when going around Kepa and finishing.
L. Trossard
Goal
5' GOALL!!! TROSSARD 1-0!!! Trossard gives Brighton the lead! Mitoma dribbles forward with the ball and plays it to Trossard in the box. He rounds Kepa and beats two defenders on the line with a composed finish.
4' SILVA BLOCKS AGAIN! Brighton send the ball in from the resulting corner. Estupinan fires a shot with his left foot but Silva clears it again!
3' WHAT A BLOCK! Silva gives away the ball deep in his own half, Trossard receives the ball from Caicedo and lobs Kepa. Silva manages to get back to his line and head it away!
1' Havertz gets the game underway for Chelsea!
The players are coming out of the tunnel and onto the pitch!
This will be Potter’s first league meeting with Brighton since leaving the club for Chelsea in September. It is the earliest into a Premier League season (by date) that a manager has managed for and against the same team, with the previous earliest Brian Little in 1994-95 for and against Leicester City (December 3rd).
De Zerbi makes two changes from his sides’ defeat at Manchester City last week and Estupinan and Mitoma come in for Veltman and Welbeck. Potter also makes two changes from their win over RB Salzburg during the week as Aubameyang and Jorginho drop to the bench for Loftus-Cheek and Mount.
SUBS: Jorginho, Denis Zakaria, Hakim Ziyech, Omari Hutchinson, Edouard Mendy, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Armando Broja, Ben Chilwell, Cesar Azpilicueta.
Chelsea (3-4-3): Kepa Arrizabalga; Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Marc Cucurella; Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher; Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic.
SUBS: Billy Gilmour, Andrew Moran, Jason Steele, Jeremy Sarmiento, Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav, Tariq Lamptey, Ed Turns, James Furlong.
Brighton (3-4-3): Robert Sanchez; Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Pevis Estupinan; Solly March, Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, Leandro Trossard; Pascal Gross, Adam Lallana, Kaoru Mitoma.
Chelsea’s last defeat in the league came at the end of August as they are on a six-game unbeaten run, winning four of those fixtures. A win today for Graham Potter’s side could take them up to third place if results elsewhere go their way.
Despite a good start to the season, Brighton have dropped to ninth in the Premier League after a winless run of five games in the competition. In that run, they have only scored four goals and three of those came against Liverpool in Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge.
Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the Premier League fixture between Brighton & Hove Albion against Chelsea.
Commentary