From convincing to chaotic: 10-man Chelsea floored late by Brighton’s rally

For 45 minutes, Chelsea looked every inch the side ready to reset their season. Enzo Fernández’s header from Reece James’s delivery crowned an ‘outstanding’ first half and had Stamford Bridge humming, even with Cole Palmer out injured. But a single misstep early in the second period—Andrey Santos prodding the ball into danger, Diego Gomez racing clear, Trevoh Chalobah’s desperate intervention—spiralled into a VAR-reviewed red card and a match that slipped away.

Brighton took full advantage against 10 men, Danny Welbeck heading them level on 77 minutes before Maxim De Cuyper and Welbeck again struck in added time. The 3-1 defeat ended a 12-game unbeaten Premier League run at home and left a frustrated Bridge offering a smattering of boos at full-time, with the Blues dropping to seventh and Liverpool next up.

An ‘outstanding’ opening undone by a single lapse

Chelsea’s first half was their best in weeks. Moisés Caicedo released James down the right and the captain’s cross, nicking off Kaoru Mitoma, found Fernández attacking the near-post space to guide in a fine header. Control of territory and tempo followed, the ball speed high, the press coordinated and the chances flowing.

The hinge was brutal. James jarred his knee and went off for treatment; within moments, Santos inadvertently poked possession into Brighton’s path. Gomez was through, tangled with Chalobah just outside the box, and after Simon Hooper initially waved it away, VAR sent him to the screen. The verdict: a clear foul and denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity. For the second straight league game, Chelsea were down a man.

A tactical retreat that backfired

Protecting the lead with 10, Enzo Maresca moved to reinforce the back line—Malo Gusto, Benoît Badiashile and Josh Acheampong introduced—while adding the defensive ballast of Roméo Lavia. It muted Chelsea’s threat on the break and, once behind late on, left the head coach out of substitution windows and short of attacking options to chase the game.

Brighton’s response, by contrast, was aggressive. Welbeck’s arrival gave their attacks a focal point and Yankuba Minteh repeatedly pulled at the stitches down Chelsea’s right. When Gusto was tasked with helping to contain him, Minteh still wriggled free and whipped a cross to the far stick for Welbeck to head in on 77 minutes. The pressure told again in stoppage time as De Cuyper nodded Brighton ahead and, with the home side stretched and short-handed, Welbeck burst through to make it three.

Flashpoints, fatigue and the late collapse

There was no shortage of controversy. Brighton were furious when Gusto’s high boot made contact with Minteh as the winger stooped to head inside the area. Both Simon Hooper and VAR declined to award a penalty—a call former referee Mike Dean suggested should have been made on-field—and a brief melee betrayed the home side’s frayed composure.

Even so, the decisive moments owed more to failing to protect the box under siege. A deep delivery was headed back across goal by Mats Wieffer for De Cuyper to nod in at the start of 11 added minutes, and when Chelsea tried to muster a response, Welbeck skipped through and lifted a composed finish over Robert Sánchez nine minutes into stoppage time.

Bigger picture: discipline, availability and a test of resolve

The themes are familiar and damaging: errors and red cards. One win in five in all competitions—an unconvincing Carabao Cup success at League One Lincoln—sits alongside a last-minute concession at Brentford and cheap goals shipped in Europe. The squad picture is tight, too. Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill remain sidelined until after the international break, Chalobah will now serve a ban, and Palmer is out, compounding the strain.

‘In the Premier League you cannot give away presents,’ Maresca said. ‘We need to learn quickly.’ Liverpool’s visit is an unforgiving next step, but there was enough in that first half to show what this team can be with 11 on the pitch. The challenge is cutting out the moments that are costing them matches and calming the decision-making when the pressure spikes.