A moment of magic from Kaoru Mitoma and a double from Yankuba Minteh gave Brighton & Hove Albion a second triumph over Chelsea in a week, as they followed up their FA Cup win with a 3-0 victory in the Premier League on Friday.
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The Seagulls went ahead in the 27th minute when Mitoma sensationally plucked Bart Verbruggen’s ball out of the sky before placing it beyond Filip Jorgensen’s grasp.
They edged further ahead 11 minutes later when Minteh, who had only scored three league goals ahead of this fixture, struck either side of half-time to lead his side back to winning ways in the top flight.
Brighton move up two places into eighth ahead of the rest of the weekend’s action. Chelsea, meanwhile, stay in the top four, though could drop out on Saturday.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
24 | +35 | 57 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
24 | +27 | 50 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
24 | +13 | 47 |
| 4 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
25 | +13 | 43 |
| 5 |
Man City
MCI
|
24 | +13 | 41 |
How the match unfolded
A moment of individual brilliance handed Brighton the lead, with Mitoma exquisitely bringing down Verbruggen’s long punt forward before curling the ball into the bottom-right corner.
It made Verbruggen the fifth different goalkeeper to assist a Premier League goal this season (after Ederson, Mark Flekken, Jordan Pickford, and Bernd Leno); the most in a single campaign since five in 2010/11.
Enzo Fernandez thought he had pulled Chelsea level eight minutes later, but the midfielder saw his goal ruled out after he was judged to have pushed Joel Veltman before heading home.
Brighton doubled their advantage just before the break; Levi Colwill almost turned the ball into his own net, with the rebound falling to Danny Welbeck, who laid off for Minteh to finish.
The 20-year-old then grabbed his second in the 63rd minute, squeezing the ball in at the near post, with a potential foul from Welbeck on Colwill in the build-up waved away.
Brighton, not content with their three-goal lead, could have added a fourth, with Mitoma seeing his effort saved before Veltman’s strike was pushed onto the post by Jorgensen.
Sensational Seagulls respond in style
Despite beating Chelsea in the FA Cup in their last competitive match, Brighton were still licking their wounds from their humiliating 7-0 thrashing at Nottingham Forest.
However, their display against the Blues further proved their credentials for finishing in the European places this season.
Though taking their time to make their mark in the match, with their opponents dominating the ball early on, Brighton remained defensively astute but ruthless in attack, as was evident in Mitoma’s bolt from the blue to open the scoring.
Minteh then handed Brighton a two-goal cushion, and though they led at the break, the hosts would have been worried, having only won one of their last five Premier League matches when ahead at half-time.
Their advantage never looked likely to be clawed back by Chelsea though.
After edging further ahead through Minteh once again, Brighton should have increased their lead, with Mitoma squandering a golden opportunity when one-on-one, while substitute Joao Pedro could only fire over after being presented with the ball from Jorgensen’s poor clearance.
Brighton are now within touching distance of the European places and will be confident of moving further up the table with a trip to struggling Southampton on 22 February.
Blues struggle without Jackson
Chelsea’s inconsistent form of late continued on the south coast, with the absence of some of their most potent attackers pivotal in their display on Friday.
With the news that Nicolas Jackson would be sidelined for six weeks with a hamstring injury, Enzo Maresca chose to play Cole Palmer in a fluid forward role alongside Christopher Nkunku, with the England international firing the game's first effort wildly over the crossbar early on after Malo Gusto’s bursting run.
Chelsea’s injury woes worsened around the 20-minute mark when Noni Madueke pulled up following a break down their right, a change that saw Jadon Sancho introduced and Palmer moved back into midfield, yet the Blues’ talisman still proved ineffective.
After failing to register a shot on target, Chelsea trailed at half-time of a Premier League match by two goals for the first time under Maresca, who will have been urging his team to respond.
But that ultimately failed to transpire. The visitors’ only chance of note came with four minutes remaining, with substitute Tyrique George almost seeing his cross turned into his own net by Adam Webster.
The Blues travel to Aston Villa next Saturday and will be hoping to solve their issues in front of goal.
Club reports
Brighton report | Chelsea report
What the managers said
Fabian Hurzeler: "We started well, we created one or two chances and after we scored the first goal we got a little bit too passive and especially in the low block we didn’t find the right trigger to press high. We changed it in the second half and we defended quite good. That was the key today."
Enzo Maresca: "I always feel pressure… but we can say tonight was the worst performance since I arrived. It's not the best moment, but we are still fourth and still in the race to finish well."
Next PL fixtures
Key facts
Verbruggen is only the second Brighton goalkeeper to register an assist in the Premier League, after Jason Steele against Brentford in April 2023.
Brighton have beaten the same opponent twice within seven days for the first time ever as a top-flight club and the first time overall since November 2007 (v Cheltenham Town).
Chelsea failed to direct a single shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since September 2021 against Manchester City.