Free-scoring Chelsea extended Xabi Alonso’s perfect start as manager with an entertaining 4-3 victory over Brighton at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The result marked Alonso’s third successive win since taking charge of the Blues, following Premier League victories over Fulham and Brighton and a League Cup triumph against Luton.
Romeo Lavia opened the scoring with his first Chelsea goal since joining from Southampton in 2023, before Pedro Neto doubled the hosts’ advantage.
Joao Pedro added a third against his former club, but Brighton’s Malick Yalcouye pulled one back late in a frenetic first half.
An own goal from Pedro after the interval gave Brighton renewed hope, before Cole Palmer restored Chelsea’s two-goal cushion in the closing stages.
Pascal Gross scored in stoppage time to set up a tense finale, but Chelsea held on to secure all three points.
Next up for Alonso’s side is a trip to face Premier League champions Arsenal on September 6.
Having seen off Fulham, Luton and Brighton, the meeting with Arsenal will provide Alonso with his first major test as he attempts to revive a Chelsea side that finished a disappointing 10th last season.
Alonso has already transformed Chelsea’s attacking output, with nine goals in their first three games. However, defensive concerns remain, with the Blues conceding four goals in those matches.
With the transfer window closing on Tuesday, it remains unclear whether Enzo Fernandez will be available for the trip to Arsenal. The Argentina midfielder missed a second successive game after being linked with a move to Manchester City.
Martinez makes Chelsea debut
Emiliano Martinez made his Chelsea debut just hours after completing his £7.5 million ($10 million) move from Aston Villa.
The 33-year-old goalkeeper was brought in to replace Robert Sanchez following another error-strewn display in Chelsea’s 3-2 victory at Fulham on Monday.
The signing also continued Chelsea’s recent willingness to recruit young players, although Martinez became the first player aged 30 or over to feature for the club in a league match since 2024.
Chelsea make another fast start
Chelsea needed just 31 seconds to score against Fulham and once again made a blistering start against Brighton.
The visitors failed to clear a fourth-minute corner, with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and defender Mats Wieffer making a mess of their attempted clearance. The ball fell to Lavia, who reacted quickest to poke it home from close range.
Alonso had opted to start Neto ahead of Reece James, and the Portugal winger rewarded that decision in the 14th minute.
Morgan Rogers burst past Luka Vuskovic into the Brighton penalty area before cutting the ball back to Neto, who guided a clever close-range finish beyond Verbruggen for his first league goal since December.
Martinez then made his first save for Chelsea, keeping out a strike from Yalcouye to loud cheers from the home supporters.
Pedro put Chelsea 3-0 ahead in the 32nd minute against his former club.
Jorrel Hato picked out Pedro inside the area and the forward calmly finished from six yards. He then celebrated with a thumbs-down gesture towards the Brighton supporters, who had been jeering him.
Chelsea’s hopes of keeping their first league clean sheet since January were ended three minutes later.
Yalcouye fired a fierce volley that flew in off the post after Martinez had made an initial save, giving Brighton a lifeline before half-time.
Brighton reduced the deficit further in the 63rd minute as Chelsea began to wobble.
Gross’s effort from a tight angle took a significant deflection off Pedro and looped over Martinez, who was wrong-footed by the change in direction.
Palmer finally restored Chelsea’s two-goal advantage in the 74th minute with a composed finish from the edge of the penalty area.
Gross headed in a looping effort deep into stoppage time, but Chelsea held firm to claim a thrilling victory in a seven-goal contest.
AFP
