Chelsea vs Brighton LIVE: Premier League result and final score as Blues hold on after Conor Gallagher red
Chelsea 3-2 Brighton: Enzo Fernandez scored twice as the 10-man hosts survived late pressure to claim three points
Chelsea played the entirety of the second half with 10 men as they clung on to defeat Brighton 3-2 after a tense finale at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were already two up thanks to headers from Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill when Conor Gallagher was shown a second yellow card for fouling Billy Gilmour in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
Moments before Gallagher’s dismissal, Facundo Buonanotte had pulled Brighton back into it at 2-1 with swinging strike inside the post, and the stage looked set for a fightback by the visitors.
Instead, it was Chelsea that reasserted their charge, Fernandez converting from the spot midway through the second half after the excellent Mykhailo Mudryk had been fouled.
Joao Pedro came off the bench to head a goal back at the start of a lengthy period of added time, before Chelsea survived a penalty scare for a possible handball against Colwill with virtually the game’s final action.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
The teams are out on the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away!
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Roberto De Zerbi makes five changes to his team after their win over AEK Athens on Thursday. Steele starts in goal, with Van Hecke, Baleba, Buonanotte and Lallana also being brought in. Verbruggen, Gross, Mitoma and Pedro start on the bench, while Lewis Dunk serves the first game of his suspension after being sent off against Forest last weekend.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Pochettino makes four changes from the loss to Newcastle last Saturday, as Disasi, Colwill, Caicedo and Mudryk all come into the side. Reece James was sent off in that game, while Marc Cucurella picked up his fifth booking of the season, so they're both suspended. Palmer drops to the bench, while Lesley Ugochukwu isn't in the squad.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
BRIGHTON SUBS: Mark O'Mahony, James Milner, Kaoru Mitoma, Benicio Baker-Boaitey, Bart Verbruggen, Joao Pedro, Jakub Moder, Leigh Kavanagh, Pascal Gross.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
BRIGHTON STARTING XI (4-2-3-1): Jason Steele; Joel Veltman, Jan-Paul van Hecke, Igor Julio, Jack Hinshelwood; Carlos Baleba, Billy Gilmour; Facundo Buonanotte, Adam Lallana, Simon Adingra; Evan Ferguson.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
CHELSEA SUBS: Lucas Bergstrom, Alfie Gilchrist, Alex Matos, Deivid Washington, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Armando Broja, Ian Maatsen, Dorde Petrovic.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
CHELSEA STARTING XI (4-2-3-1): Robert Sanchez; Axel Disasi, Beniot Badiashile, Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher, Mykhailo Mudryk; Nicolas Jackson.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton come into today on the back of a midweek high having secured their place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League with a 1-0 win over AEK Athens on Thursday. They also ended a run of six without a win in the Premier League last weekend after holding on for a 3-2 over Nottingham Forest. They've enjoyed success in the league against Chelsea in recent years, going unbeaten against them in their last five such meetings (W2 D3), including doing the double over them last season.
Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion
With an upturn in form, things had started to look up for Chelsea in recent weeks. Going into last weekend, they'd lost just one of eight games in competitions (W5 D2), with that run including a 1-0 win over Brighton in the EFL Cup in late September. They followed it up last weekend with a heavy 4-1 defeat at Newcastle United. Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping his team can bounce back today and turn around their home form as they've won just one of their last 14 Premier League games at Stamford Bridge which came against promoted Luton Town (3-0).
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