Chelsea Edge Brighton 4-3 in Seven-Goal Thriller at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea maintained their perfect start under new manager Xabi Alonso with a breathless 4-3 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues raced into a three-goal lead inside half an hour before surviving a determined fightback, with Cole Palmer’s superb strike proving decisive in a match full of attacking quality and defensive lapses.
Chelsea opened the scoring in just the fourth minute. A corner caused chaos in the Brighton box; Mats Wieffer blocked João Pedro’s header on the line, but goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen then fumbled the clearance, allowing Romeo Lavia to pounce and prod home from close range for his first Chelsea goal.
The hosts doubled their advantage in the 14th minute. Morgan Rogers beat his marker on the left and delivered a low cross that Pedro Neto met ahead of the defender, turning the ball into the net to make it 2-0.
Chelsea looked in complete control when they added a third in the 32nd minute. Jorrel Hato produced a driving run down the left and slipped a precise pass into João Pedro, who finished clinically against his former club to put the Blues 3-0 up.
Brighton responded almost immediately. In the 35th minute Malick Yalcouyé, making his first Premier League start, reacted first to a rebound after Emiliano Martínez (making his Chelsea debut) denied Charalampos Kostoulas and smashed a powerful volley into the net to reduce the deficit to 3-1 at half-time.
The visitors continued their recovery after the break. In the 63rd minute Pascal Groß’s low shot or cross took a heavy deflection off João Pedro and looped past Martínez for an own goal, leaving Chelsea leading by just a single goal at 3-2.
Chelsea restored a two-goal cushion in the 74th minute through a moment of individual brilliance. Cole Palmer collected the ball, drove forward from midfield, and curled a precise left-footed finish into the far corner from the edge of the area, making it 4-2.
Brighton refused to give up. Deep into stoppage time, in the sixth added minute, Pascal Groß headed home to set a final score of 4-3, but it proved too late to deny Chelsea the three points.
The result left Alonso’s side with two wins from two in the Premier League, while Brighton showed character in recovery but paid for their slow start. The high-scoring contest highlighted Chelsea’s potent attack alongside lingering defensive vulnerabilities that the new manager will look to address.
