On Matchday 2 of the Premier League, Brighton & Hove Albion exposed some defensive weaknesses and lost 3-4 to Chelsea FC. In the showdown between Xabi Alonso and Fabian Hürzeler, the Spaniard came out on top. In goal, new signing Emiliano Martinez made his debut for the Blues.
Xabi Alonso’s Premier League debut as Chelsea manager came last week with a 2–0 victory over Luton Town. The Spaniard wanted to repeat that success with his Blues—for whom new signing Emiliano Martinez started in goal—but on Matchday 2 of the Premier League, he faced Fabian Hürzeler’s Brighton & Hove Albion, which had kicked off the season with a resounding 4–0 victory over Aston Villa.
But at first, there was no sign of the Seagulls’ confidence. Instead, they revealed glaring gaps in their defense and fell behind 0–1 to Lavia as early as the 4th minute after Verbruggen blocked his teammate Wieffer from clearing the ball with a header. And it didn’t take long for Chelsea FC to extend their lead: About ten minutes later, following a throw-in, Rogers far too easily got past former Hamburg player Vuskovic on the left side of the penalty area and crossed to Pedro Neto, who scored to make it 2–0 (14th minute).
Joao Pedro misses a huge chance but then scores anyway
After 25 minutes, it even briefly looked like a debacle for Brighton, but Joao Pedro, unmarked in a central position, squandered a huge chance to make it 3–0. The Seagulls’ defense simply wasn’t up to par that afternoon. So it took just another seven minutes before Joao Pedro was presented with another huge chance—and this time he capitalized on it (32′). However, Brighton wasn’t quite out of the game at halftime, thanks to Yalcouyé, who sparked a glimmer of hope with his first Premier League goal in the 35th minute.
The second half was more evenly matched. First, Gomez had a chance to pull one back with a header (56′), and shortly after, Palmer had a golden opportunity to seal the deal early with a 4-1 lead from close range with no one around him—but he sent the ball over the bar (58′). So Brighton stayed in the game and actually closed the gap again through Groß: The German tried to cross from the right side of the penalty area and forced an own goal by Joao Pedro to make it 2–3 (63′). However, there were no clear chances to equalize. Instead, Palmer dribbled his way through the center with a strong solo run and then scored from 20 meters to make it 4–2 (74′).
Groß scores too late
The game was decided, and Brighton’s hopes were largely dashed. But Groß was back in the spotlight shortly before the end: He headed the ball into the net to make it 3–4; the goal came in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but it was too late to reignite the excitement. Thus, Xabi Alonso also won his second Premier League match as Chelsea’s manager, while Fabian Hürzeler will likely focus on defensive work during the upcoming training week.
Chelsea’s next match is this coming Sunday (5:30 p.m.) in the city derby against Arsenal. Brighton faces Leeds United as early as Saturday (4:00 p.m.).
