Chelsea’s relegation form continued as a stunning strike from Julio Enciso sealed a 2-1 win for Brighton over the Blues at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea had opened the scoring through a deflected Connor Gallagher shot early in the first half. Brighton, however, completely controlled the game and deservedly struck level through Danny Welbeck, before Enciso’s rocket ruined Frank Lampard’s managerial return to Stamford Bridge.
Kepa Arrizabalaga- 7/10
Unlike in midweek, there was absolutely nothing Kepa could do about either Brighton goal today. The Spaniard actually kept Chelsea in the game with some very smart saves. There were some lapses in his distribution, but he made up for it, making nine saves.
Trevoh Chalobah- 3/10
Bar one incredible tackle (which came due to initial bad positioning), this was a really difficult day at the office for Chalobah. The makeshift right back just could not deal with the speed and trickery of Kaoru Mitoma, who beat him over and over again. Improved slightly when he moved into his natural centre back position but still looked far from comfortable.
Wesley Fofana- 5/10
Fofana will have to look at his defending for Brighton’s equaliser. For the second time in a week, he failed to deal with an aerial ball into the Chelsea box, and for the second time, it proved costly. He did make some nice tackles at points, but he too struggled to deal with Mitoma at times. Vinicius Jr. awaits in three days…
Benoît Badiashile- 4/10
A really poor clearance from Badiashile handed back possession to Brighton in the build-up to their equaliser. The Frenchman’s clearance barely made it off the floor before it was recovered by the Seagulls. He also failed to close down Enciso quickly enough to block his winning goal.
Ben Chilwell- 5/10
Brighton’s dominance with the ball had every Chelsea defender struggling today, with Chilwell no exception. The Englishman just could not stop Brighton from pinging crosses into the box all throughout the game. Going forward, Chilwell could have had an assist when his cross was met by Pulisic, who struck the post.
Dennis Zakaria- 3/10
It genuinely felt as if Zakaria wasn’t on the pitch today. The Swiss international made only 19 touches in the 70 minutes he was on the pitch. For a Chelsea midfielder, playing at Stamford Bridge, that is almost unheard of. His off-the-ball work was poor and allowed Brighton complete midfield dominance.
Enzo Fernández- 6/10
One of the few Chelsea players who can walk off the pitch without feeling absolutely embarrassed with their performance. Fernández played a fantastic pass to Mudryk in the build-up to Chelsea’s opener. Other than a few errors, he looked composed on the ball in tight spaces for the majority of the time.
Connor Gallagher- 6/10
A very fortunate deflected Gallagher strike handed Chelsea their first goal in almost a month. Gallagher did pose a threat throughout the game with forward runs, but when he got into the final third he tended to waste his chances.
Sidenote, but is it just me or does Gallagher get a yellow card every game?
Mykhailo Mudryk- 7/10
If there is one minor positive to take from today’s game, it is the performance of Mudryk. It is fair to say the Ukrainian has struggled since he came to the Premier League, but today he looked like a completely different player. A lively start earned him his second Chelsea assist when he found Gallagher with a very good pass. He did fade out of the game as it went on slightly, but that is more of a reflection on the rest of the team than Mudryk today.
Raheem Sterling- 3/10
Another invisible performance from Sterling today, who is looking to be another Todd Boehly signing that has failed to have a positive impact. Sterling managed 15 touches – the lowest of any player on the pitch.
Christian Pulisic- 3/10
Another bad day in blue for Pulisic. Every time the American got the ball – which wasn’t very often, he seemed to lose it. The one half chance he had, in fairness, he did well to head onto the post, although it would have been comfortably saved had it been on target.
Subs
João Félix- 4/10
Extremely lazy play from the Portuguese international in the build-up to Brighton’s winner. Félix showed no desire to go for the ball in a fifty fifty and allowed Brighton to attack without applying any pressure. Contributed nothing going forward.
Hakim Ziyech- 5/10
I am not entirely sure why Ziyech was back in the Chelsea squad, but it is likely this was the last time. He played one decent cross with his right foot (using his right foot for the first time ever?). His most memorable contribution was taking a late corner that barely even got off the floor…
Mateo Kovačić- 5/10
Had a great chance to equalise after stealing the ball high up the field, but once again the Croatian’s finishing let him down. Was guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous positions on occasion.
Reece James- 5/10
James almost cost Chelsea a goal with some of the most bizarre defending you will ever see. He told Chalobah to leave it to him, then failed to hold off Mitoma, and then fell over. If it wasn’t so painful as a Chelsea fan right now it would have almost been funny.
Mason Mount- 5/10
Came out to a huge ovation from the Chelsea fans, who have made it quite clear how they feel over his current contract situation. In all honesty, however, he did not play very well today, beautifully blasting a shot 20 yards over the bar, much to the Brighton’s fans amusement.
Frank Lampard- 2/10
Well… the homecoming could not have gone much worse if he tried. Brighton managed 26 shots to Chelsea’s 10. Brighton had 58% possession, although there was a point it was in the high 60’s. Although it took yet another screamer to make it happen, Chelsea deserved to lose. Frank is going to have to become something of a miracle worker if the Blues are to have any hope of overcoming the two-goal deficit in the Champions League against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Twitter- @Kieranroy1
