Chelsea survive Brighton fightback in seven-goal thriller

Chelsea maintained their perfect start under Xabi Alonso with an entertaining 4-3 win over Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

The hosts raced into a 3-0 lead through Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and former Brighton forward João Pedro, but the visitors fought back to set up a tense finish. Cole Palmer’s superb strike eventually restored Chelsea’s two-goal advantage before Pascal Groß scored in stoppage time to give Brighton one final hope.

Chelsea make explosive start

Chelsea were ruthless during the opening half-hour.

Lavia opened the scoring in the fourth minute after capitalising on a mistake by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Neto then doubled the advantage after being set up by Morgan Rogers, who continued his impressive start to life at Chelsea.

João Pedro added the third in the 32nd minute after a rapid counter-attack. The forward, who had been booed by Brighton supporters before kick-off, responded by celebrating in front of the visiting fans.

The goal completed an excellent opening spell for Chelsea, who appeared to be in complete control.

Brighton fight back

Brighton quickly changed the mood.

Malick Yalcouyé reduced the deficit with a powerful effort that went in off the woodwork before João Pedro accidentally turned a Groß shot beyond new Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez in the 63rd minute.

Brighton had chances to equalise, with Diego Gómez going close and Martínez making several important saves on his debut. Groß eventually headed home in the sixth minute of added time, but Chelsea held on to claim their second league victory under Alonso.

João Pedro remains central

João Pedro was one of Chelsea’s most dangerous players despite his unfortunate own goal.

The 24-year-old repeatedly ran at Brighton’s defence, held the ball up effectively and combined well with his teammates. He led Chelsea for shots, touches in the opposition box, dribbles and fouls won, while his 13 duels won were the second-highest total recorded by any Premier League player this season.

Former England forward Alan Smith said João Pedro appeared to be in the best form of his career.

The Brazilian has now scored in consecutive league matches and looks increasingly comfortable operating as a central striker rather than simply as a supporting forward.

A different Chelsea identity

Chelsea’s attacking speed was impressive, but the performance also revealed a striking change in Alonso’s approach.

The hosts had only 25.6% possession and completed 146 passes—both club-record lows in a Premier League match since detailed data collection began in 2003-04.

Rather than dominating the ball, Chelsea repeatedly looked to win possession and attack quickly in transition. Alonso said the statistics needed to be considered in context, pointing out that Chelsea led for most of the game and Brighton therefore had to take the initiative.

“It is about how you play and what we can do better,” Alonso said. “It is not about whether we need to have 60% or 20% possession.”

The approach produced another high-scoring win, but Chelsea’s defensive weaknesses remain a concern after conceding five goals in their opening two league matches.

Martinez makes debut

Martínez was introduced directly into the starting line-up only hours after completing his £7.5m move from Aston Villa.

The World Cup winner made several strong saves and brought experience and authority to the defence, although he was beaten three times. Alonso praised his professionalism and said Martínez had already made a positive impression on the rest of the squad.

Chelsea were also without Enzo Fernández for a second consecutive match amid reported interest from Manchester City. Moisés Caicedo returned as a substitute but was forced off after a short appearance with what Alonso described as a recurrence of an existing issue.

Chelsea’s attack is flourishing under Alonso, but the manager still has to improve the defence and resolve Fernández’s future. For now, however, two wins from two have provided an extremely encouraging beginning.