S Poddar
Enzo Maresca must be sick of watching Kaoru Mitoma torment his side. A week on from knocking Chelsea out of the FA Cup, the Japanese winger provided another piece of magic, putting Brighton on the path to a commanding win. His breathtaking control and calm finish for the first goal set the tone for the night, heaping more pressure on the Chelsea boss.
For Chelsea, it was a third loss in four games and cast serious doubt over their top-four hopes. Cole Palmer, playing as a false nine tasked with spearheading the attack, had a torrid evening before grudgingly recognizing the traveling fans at the end. Maresca, meanwhile, grew more and more forlorn on the touchline as his side struggled to deal with what they were faced with, particularly after Yankuba Minteh doubled Brighton’s advantage before half-time.
Minteh was not finished yet. His second of the match cancelled out any remaining hope of a Chelsea fightback, and Brighton might have caused even more damage if late opportunities were seized by Mitoma, João Pedro, or Joël Veltman. What was already an agonizing defeat could have turned into a Valentine’s Day horror show. Now, with Fabian Hürzeler’s team nipping at the heels in the table, Maresca is looking for answers.
Following another woeful display, Chelsea manager Maresca accepted the increasing discontent of fans. “We have to demonstrate more will,” Maresca conceded as his side mustered no shot on target. “We feel disappointed and we feel really sorry for the fans. At this point, you cannot give this type of display with 14 games remaining.”. The supporters are entitled to be disappointed and the bad vibe is that we are giving away too many opportunities and not creating enough. This is a time when we have to pull together.”
Maresca also shrugged off criticism for his own recent suggestion that playing in the Premier League was a priority following Chelsea’s FA Cup exit, with the Champions League spot still the club’s number one aim. On this display, though, even a Conference League place might be hopeful. “Most likely since I came, that is [our] worst performance,” he told Sky Sports.
With Robert Sánchez benched, Filip Jörgensen played in goal, keeping one fewer former Brighton player to direct abuse at for the home supporters. That did not deter them from venting their spleen whenever Moisés Caicedo or Marc Cucurella was in possession of the ball.
Hürzelter had issued an appeal for response after Brighton’s recent failure on the Amex Stadium turf, where they hadn’t managed a win in their previous five league matches. His team gave exactly that. “We knew we had to be tight against Chelsea but in both games intensity was the priority,” said Brighton’s manager.
Chelsea did have a glimmer of hope early on when Palmer was in a good position, but his finishing was poor. His second effort was even poorer—after a good run down the right, he scuffed his shot way off target. To add insult to injury, that was the last thing Noni Madueke did all night, limping off with a hamstring injury, replaced by Jadon Sancho.
Brighton had been so quiet until then, but their breakthrough came in breathtaking style. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, who had endured a horror own goal last week at Chelsea, floated a precise pass downfield towards Mitoma. The Japanese international’s first touch was class personified, swivelling the ball over his shoulder before smoothly gliding past Trevoh Chalobah and curving his shot wide of Jörgensen. When I saw his first touch … I’ve seen him do it countless times in training,” said Danny Welbeck. “It was a thing of beauty.
Chelsea thought they had a route back into the game briefly when Enzo Fernández scored, but his effort was disallowed for a foul. Brighton supporters, on the other hand, went wild when their side doubled the advantage. Chelsea’s disjointed defense could not cope with Georginio Rutter’s cross, and Minteh calmly slotted in from close range after Welbeck had nicely played him in.
Maresca sent his side back out onto the pitch prematurely for the second half in the hopes of galvanizing a response. Little altered, though. Rutter missed a reasonable chance from one set up by Minteh, but Brighton’s third goal was coming with no stopping it. A sloppy giveaway by Levi Colwill provided the invitation for Welbeck to be provider yet again, with Minteh guilty of no error in sending the game out of sight. Malo Gusto, who had put Minteh onside, was immediately replaced by Reece James, while Caicedo’s departure was greeted with cries of “What a waste of money!”.
Brighton smelt blood and kept pushing forward. Mitoma had an opportunity to score his second but blasted straight at Jörgensen following a flash counter-attack. Chelsea ‘keeper Jörgensen was let off the hook again just moments later when João Pedro intercepted a lazy pass out of defence but missed the target. Brighton were dominating and Veltman hit the post late on, almost finishing Chelsea’s agony.
For Maresca, the loss only adds to the mounting crisis. Chelsea’s form is slipping at the worst possible moment, and with no obvious solutions in place, the pressure keeps building. While Brighton were celebrating a hard-won win, Chelsea’s woes left their manager frantically trying to stem the slide.
