Brighton vs Chelsea Review
Chelsea’s chances of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League are essentially over following a 3-0 loss away to Brighton at the Amex Stadium. While Chelsea had been somewhat competitive in most of those matches, that was not the case during the first half against a determined Brighton team. The Seagulls tested goalkeeper Robert Sánchez within two minutes when he pushed Kaoru Mitoma’s close-range header over the crossbar. Brighton then took the lead from the resulting corner when Jorrel Hato’s poorly timed clearance accidentally deflected the ball to Ferdi Kadıoğlu, whose shot was further deflected by Wesley Fofana into the net.
With momentum now on Brighton’s side, they toyed with their opponents and created numerous additional chances. Jan Paul van Hecke forced Sánchez into another fingertip save, shortly before Georginio Rutter curled a shot just wide of the post. Only Jack Hinshelwood knows how he didn’t double his team’s lead midway through the half, after a misplaced pass from Sánchez allowed Yankuba Minteh to set up the midfielder, but Trevoh Chalobah cleared the ball off the line.
As halftime approached, Chelsea showed slight improvement, but not enough to register a shot on target, doing little to satisfy the traveling fans who expressed their frustration. The visitors managed their first shot in the 47th minute when Roméo Lavia fired over the bar. However, their task to mount a comeback became even tougher when Brighton countered from a Chelsea attack and scored through Hinshelwood, who redeemed himself for his earlier miss. Mitoma came close next, volleying just past the post from a corner as Brighton sought to deepen the woes of Liam Rosenior and his team. Kadıoğlu had two chances to complete his brace, but Sánchez was up to the challenge on both occasions.
Ultimately, this was as comfortable a victory as Brighton could have hoped for, improving their chances of qualifying for European competition next season. They further enhanced the final score when substitute Danny Welbeck scored in injury time. Brighton earned plenty of praise, having won six of their last eight Premier League matches. However, the focus will once again shift to Chelsea. They have now lost five consecutive Premier League games for the first time since 1993 and have failed to score in that many matches for the first time in 114 years.
