Chelsea Suffer Heavy Defeat in Graham Potter’s Return to Brighton

Chelsea suffered a huge defeat at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion in manager Graham Potter’s return to the Amex Stadium since leaving the Seagulls for the Blues earlier this season.

Chelsea took on Brighton in their latest fixture in the Premier League and ended the game suffering their first defeat since Potter took charge of the club.

The Blues were unbeaten in the first nine games they played since appointing Potter as their manager. But their unbeaten run came to a close at Brighton, with the home side securing a 4-1 win over Chelsea.

Brighton opened their scoring just five minutes into the game, with Leandro Trossard giving them the lead.

Chelsea suffer heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton

Thiago Silva lost possession in the Chelsea defensive third, and Brighton made the most of it. Trossard rounded Kepa Arrizabalaga and slotted the ball into the net to make it 1-0.

Brighton doubled their lead on 14 minutes as Roben Loftus-Cheek conceded an own goal. The Chelsea midfielder inadvertently turned the ball into the Blues’ net from a Brighton corner.

The Stamford Bridge outfit then conceded another own goal in the 42^nd minute to trail by three goals. Moisés Caicedo released Pervis Estupiñán down the left, and in a desperate attempt to cut the left-back’s cross out, Trevoh Chalobah diverted the ball into the Chelsea net.

Chelsea started the second-half strongly and pulled one back in the 48^th minute of the match. Kai Havertz’s header from a Conor Gallagher cross into the Brighton box beat Robert Sanchez and went into the net.

However, the Blues could not find another goal to mount the pressure on Brighton. In fact, as Chelsea desperately looked for a second goal, it was Brighton who scored.

Ending Chelsea’s slim hopes of an unlikely comeback, Brighton made it 4-1 in the 90+2^nd minute. Edouard Mendy made two saves to deny Julio Enciso but Pascal Gross scored from the rebound to seal Brighton’s win.

The defeat leaves Chelsea fifth in the Premier League points table with 21 points from 12 matches. They are three points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United, who have 24 points from 13 matches.

Chelsea could drop to sixth in the points table if Man Utd secures a win over West Ham when the two sides meet on Sunday. Meanwhile, Brighton are eighth in the points table.