Resilient Chelsea held to the neck by 11-men Brighton

The premier league never disappoints fans, and for a 10-man Chelsea side, it was about proving a point and 3 against 11-men Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Seagulls so far in recent seasons have built themselves quite the incredible profile to keep their opponents scared and on their toes no matter what gets thrown at them.

On their day, they have beaten the big sides, frustrated even title contenders and engineered one of the greatest inspirational stories football could ever tell in the modern day, when they qualified for European competition last season. Put plainly, when it comes to giant killing, no one currently does it better than Brighton and Hove Albion.

It is this narrative that West-London club, Chelsea had in the back of their minds walking out to the Stamford Bridge turf, in front of its home fans. The Blues held on to the fear and reality that conceding a defeat would mark 2 consecutive premier league losses in 2 weekends.

Thus, the game started with Chelsea racing into a 2-goal lead thanks to midfielder, Enzo Fernandez and Centre Back, Levi Colwill putting the Blues up ahead within the first 21 minutes of the first half.

However, the songs sang about Brighton were not tales to be written off completely, and like they have been known for, they pulled 1 shortly before the half-time whistle thanks to a Facundo Buonanotte goal. The advantage went in their favor shortly before the whistle when Chelsea midfielder, Conor Gallagher received a second yellow card to leave the Blues down to 10-men.

Undeterred by the numerical disadvantage, Chelsea displayed resilience and determination. Upon resumption in the second half, Enzo Fernandez converted a penalty to extend the Blues’ lead, marking his second goal of the match and reinstating Chelsea’s two-goal cushion.

Brighton, however, refused to surrender and intensified their onslaught. In a dramatic twist, Joao Pedro’s late goal set the stage for a nail-biting finale, leaving Chelsea on tenterhooks in the dying moments.