Brighton vs Chelsea Review
A stunning goal from Kaoru Mitoma and a brace from Yankuba Minteh led Brighton to a 3-0 victory over Chelsea in the Premier League, marking the Seagulls’ second win against the Blues in less than a week after previously losing four consecutive matchups. In the early minutes of the game, Marc Cucurella faced boos every time he touched the ball, while Moisés Caicedo aggressively engaged in several challenges. The visitors also experienced frustration, as Cole Palmer missed two early chances, sending both attempts off-target, and Noni Madueke had to leave the game due to injury just 21 minutes in.
After scoring the decisive goal in their previous FA Cup encounter, Mitoma showcased his exceptional skill by expertly controlling Bart Verbruggen’s long pass and finding the bottom corner to open the scoring. The Blues soon faced more frustration when Enzo Fernández’s header was disallowed for pushing Joël Veltman, and the hosts quickly extended their lead.
Filip Jörgensen managed to prevent Levi Colwill’s interception from going into his own net, but the ball fell to Danny Welbeck, who set up Minteh. Minteh calmly cut inside Cucurella and finished the move. After Georginio Rutter missed a chance by shooting over the bar and Carlos Baleba’s attempt was blocked, Minteh scored again in the 63rd minute, making it Brighton’s third goal.
Colwill believed he was fouled, but Minteh connected with Welbeck, outmaneuvered Cucurella once more, and scored with a deflection off Trevoh Chalobah. A counterattack initiated by Rutter ended with Mitoma hitting a shot at the goalkeeper, who later made a mistake by passing directly to João Pedro, but the Brazilian squandered the opportunity with a wild shot on his first touches after coming on.
João Pedro also missed a header over the crossbar, and Jörgensen deflected Veltman’s shot onto the post before the final whistle. However, there was already much to celebrate as Brighton decisively broke their streak of five home Premier League games without a win. The Seagulls also worsened the Blues’ poor away record, which now stands at only two victories in their last eight league matches since Boxing Day. Palmer, visibly frustrated, represented his team’s irritation as the match came to a close.
