Chelsea 4-2 Brighton: Player ratings as Palmer scores four in Stamford Bridge thriller.
- Chelsea beat Brighton in entertaining Premier League encounter
- Cole Palmer with four first-half goals for Blues
- Georginio Rutter and Carlos Baleba with goals for Seagulls
By Sean Walsh
FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE – Chelsea extended their unbeaten record with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at home.
The Blues are undefeated in the Premier League since losing to Manchester City on the first day of the season.
Cole Palmer scored four first-half goals to put the Seagulls to shame on a beautiful Saturday in west London.
How did the game unfold?
Brighton took an early lead. The hosts were unable to cope with a Pervis Estupinan cross, as Carlos Baleba blocked Levi Colwill’s clearing, and Georginio Rutter beat goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to the loose high ball, heading into an empty net.
Chelsea’s first chance came midway through the first half, when Enzo Fernandez saw Palmer’s run in behind, but with only Bart Verbruggen to beat, he rolled a shot off the post.
He had the ball in the net with his second chance after another Fernandez assist, but he was clearly offside, and the goal was promptly called out.
Palmer, however, had a third chance with Chelsea’s following attempt. Adam Webster dreadfully underhit a pass back to Verbruggen, which was seized on by Nicolas Jackson, who squared for the Blues’ number 20 to score.
Brighton faced pressure from Chelsea, who thought they had scored when Noni Madueke crossed the line and set up Jadon Sancho for a simple finish. The offside flag was raised to deny the winger, and the judgment was confirmed following a long VAR review.
Chelsea was granted a penalty shortly later after Sancho fell between Rutter and Baleba. Palmer stepped up, sending Verbruggen the wrong way, putting the hosts ahead.
Palmer completed his hat-trick on the half-hour mark with a spectacular free-kick from 25 yards into the top corner.
Brighton could have equalized when Mats Wieffer rolled a close-range shot wide, but they were rewarded with the subsequent goal kick when Sanchez passed the ball to Baleba, who converted from close range.
Baleba forced a great save from Sanchez with a barnstorming long-range shot as the tetchy mood surrounding Stamford Bridge returned.
Palmer delivered a wonderful long ball over the top for Madueke to latch onto, then sat down Webster and fired wide.
There was still time before the interval for Palmer to score his fourth goal, making an underlapping move inside Sancho and scoring at the near post. This made him the first Premier League player to score four first-half goals in a single game.
Chelsea went into halftime two goals up as Sanchez made another excellent stop to keep away Welbeck’s low drive.
The visitors requested a penalty on the opposite side of the interval after Kaoru Mitoma was challenged by Malo Gusto, but the referee ignored their demands.
Straight down the other end, Jackson did an excellent job of bringing down Palmer’s high ball and around Verbruggen, but Webster recovered to make a goal-saving stop.
Palmer somehow missed his fifth goal when Moises Caicedo robbed Wieffer of the ball, and his one-on-one effort went wide.
Brighton demanded another penalty after Yasin Ayari fell, but their pleas were ignored once more.
With little over 20 minutes left, Chelsea thought they had a fifth via former Seagull Marc Cucurella, but he was offside on the second ball from a corner, and it was called off.
A back-and-forth contest faded in the latter moments, and Chelsea’s triumph was secured after five minutes of extra time.
Enzo Maresca’s side is currently only one point behind the leaders, while Fabian Hurzeler has suffered his first defeat as Brighton manager.
Chelsea player ratings: (4-2-3-1)
RB: Malo Gusto – 5/10 – Not the best performance from the Frenchman, who was unexpectedly sloppy in possession and struggled to track down Mitoma. I committed a foul throw.
CB: Wesley Fofana – 6/10 – One of Chelsea’s most capable defenders, with a low clearance bar. I did get skinned late in the second half, though.
CB Levi Colwill (6/10) admitted to overplaying before Brighton’s first goal. It wasn’t too horrible after that, and it was generally Chelsea’s finest out-ball from the back.
LB: Marc Cucurella – 5/10 – defeated by Rutter for the opening goal of a hectic day. I played with little less confidence than normal.
Moises Caicedo (CM) received a 6/10 after a challenging sparring session with Brighton’s Baleba. Brighton’s enthusiasm made it difficult for Caicedo to do all of the mopping up alone, but he remained an important presence in midfield.
Enzo Fernandez, the stand-in captain, had ups and downs during the game. He took advantage of Brighton’s high line with accurate passes in behind, but also struggled with fundamental skills.
Noni Madueke – 7/10 – Made mincemeat of Brighton’s excessively high line, but was unable to contribute a goal of his own.
AM: Cole Palmer (10/10)Goodness gracious me.The first player in Premier League history to score four goals in the opening half. Do we need to say anything else? Let the ten speak.
LW: Jadon Sancho, 8/10 – Another week in which Sancho displayed why he is the best match for this system, slowing the game down before speeding it up again to propel Chelsea attacks. An outstanding effort on his home debut.
CF: Nicolas Jackson, 7/10 – Caused confusion and mayhem among Brighton’s defenders without scoring himself.
Substitutes
SUB: Pedro Neto (63′ for Madueke) – 6/10
Substitute: Renato Veiga (70′ for Cucurella) – 6/10
SUB: Mykhailo Mudryk (70′ for Sancho) – 5/10
SUB: Christopher Nkunku (79’ for Jackson) – 6/10
SUB: Romeo Lavia (79′ for Fernandez) – 6/10
Subs not used: Filip Jorgensen (GK), Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Joao Felix.
Manager
Enzo Maresca – 7/10 – Chelsea’s offensive in the final third is impressive, although their initial phase of play requires improvement.
Brighton Player Ratings (4-3-3)
Brighton’s goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen, deserves a drink from the defenders in front of him (5/10). He had no chance with such recklessness ahead of him.
Ferdi Kadioglu, an aggressive full-back in the Premier League, received a 4/10 rating due to his neat and tidy ball play. However, he learned the importance of paying attention to details.
CB: Adam Webster – 3/10.Too sluggish and reckless in possession for this system. A rough day out.
CB: Lewis Dunk (4/10)Similarly, his deficiencies were exposed by a revived and strong Chelsea onslaught.
LB: Pervis Estupinan, 4/10 -He contributed to Rutter’s first goal, but that was the best of the left-back’s day. When things became rough, they didn’t give enough support to keep going.
CM: Jack Hinshelwood – 5/10 – Stayed on the outskirts of the game, refusing to participate when necessary.
Carlos Baleba is Brighton’s finest player and the driving force behind their offense, earning a 7/10 rating. Sometimes we gave up possession too cheaply, but it was more of a collective issue.
CM: Mats Wieffer – 6/10 – If Brighton had greater security at the back, Wieffer would have had more flexibility to play his role. Unfortunately, he was frequently hauled back into defensive responsibilities, which limited his considerable ingenuity.
Georginio Rutter (6/10) opened the goal with a courageous header but struggled to maintain his dominance throughout the game.
CF: Danny Welbeck – 5/10 – Despite occasional opportunities, he failed to capitalize.
LW: Kaoru Mitoma – 6/10The excitement around Mitoma has subsided significantly over the previous year, yet he remains one of the Premier League’s greatest, most skilled, and silkiest dribblers. kept Gusto on his toes.
Substitutes
SUB: Yasin Ayari (57′ for Wieffer) – 5/10
SUB: Igor (57’ for Webster) – 5/10
SUB: Yankuba Minteh (70′ for Rutter) – 5/10
SUB: Julio Enciso (70′ for Kadioglu). – 6/10
SUB: Evan Ferguson (81′ for Welbeck) – 5/10
Subs not used: Jason Steele (GK), Tariq Lamptey, Imari Samuels, and Jakub Moder.
Manager
Fabian Hurzeler: 5/10 -Brighton will be entertaining to watch under the Premier League’s youngest-ever manager, but his aggressive high line may cost them dearly.
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