Eden Hazard lights up the Amex as Chelsea sweep aside Brighton
Brighton 1-2 Chelsea: Eden Hazard created one goal and scored another as the Blues put aside a troubling week off the pitch to earn another three points on it
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Your support makes all the difference.After a week when Chelsea made headlines for all the wrong reasons, Maurizio Sarri’s team were able to get back to winning a football match again. They should have done so with ease after leading an initially passive and ineffective Brighton side 2-0 after 33 minutes. But they allowed the Seagulls to make a contest of it before hanging on nervously for a win.
Eden Hazard ran the first hour of the match, setting up the opening goal for Pedro and scoring his ninth goal of the season, his first since 7 October. Solly March replied with his first goal of the season as Brighton recovered their spirit.
There had, inevitably, been speculation about the behaviour of the travelling Chelsea fans in the wake of the alleged racist remark directed at Raheem Sterling of Manchester City eight days ago, or the anti-semitic chants during their Europa League tie against Vidi in Budapest on Thursday. Bearing in mind the large gay population in the city of Brighton & Hove, a grim trifecta completed by homophobia was not being ruled out. But in the end they seemed content to watch their team grind out three points that should have been comfortably banked well before the final whistle.
Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri retained the starting eleven that had ended Manchester City’s unbeaten record. Chris Hughton, the Brighton manager, went back to his tried and trusted men, with Dale Stephens and Glenn Murray starting after coming off the bench in the 1-0 defeat by Burnley. That suggested a safety-first approach to a fixture Brighton lost 4-0 last season.
Hazard had shone in that game, so perhaps Stephens’ early nip at his ankle was an attempt to make the point that the Belgian would not be afforded the freedom of the Amex Stadium to the same extent this time. It gave Chelsea a free kick that David Luiz drove through the defensive wall but straight into the arms of Maty Ryan.
Brighton’s opening effort on goal was a shot from March that was deflected for a corner kick, the opening created by Murray. But although Murray has Premier League-level awareness and guile, his lack of pace restricted Brighton’s forward options.
And, try as they might, Brighton could not keep Hazard quiet and in the 17th minute he engineered Chelsea’s opener. His first shot was charged down but he collected the rebound and surged past Martin Montoya into the area. What looked like a low left-foot shot destined to go past the far post turned out to be a perfectly-weighted low cross that Pedro met six yards out to score a simple goal.
March had another go from distance on the half-hour, forcing Kepa to his first save, but Brighton’s usual playmakers, Pascal Gross and Anthony Knockaert, were peripheral figures. What the home side could not afford to do with their limited possession was surrender it cheaply, but they did just that after 33 minutes and the result was a second Chelsea goal. Leon Balogun, the Nigeria defender, was at fault, misplaying a pass straight to Willian, who sent Hazard through. He was in no mood to pass up the chance, accelerating away to beat Ryan with a right-foot shot.
A header from a corner by Antonio Rudiger zipped just past the post after 41 minutes and it would not have distorted the score had it gone in, and some panic-stricken pinball in the Brighton six-yard area four minutes into the second half after a low cross by Cesar Azpilicueta ended with Pedro hooking a good chance over the bar..
Marcos Alonso left Ryan clawing at empty air with a shot from the edge of the penalty area that cracked back of the post. That would have been game over but instead Brighton forced their way back into the game, pulling a goal back after 66 minutes. Pascal Gross crossed from the right, Brazilian defender Bernardo headed back across goal and March hooked the ball in from six yards.
Alonso was perhaps lucky to see a yellow card rather than a red when pulling back March as he ran onto a pass by substitute Yves Bissouma, but Brighton still ended the game on attack. Their final pass, though, was never good enough and Chelsea held on.
Brighton & Hove Albion (4-4-1-1): Ryan; Montoya, Balogun, Dunk, Bernardo; Knockaert (Locadia 84), Stephens, Propper, March; Gross (Bissouma 82); Murray (Andone 61). Substitutes: Steele, Bruno, Bong, Kayal.
Chelsea (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic (Barkley 76); Pedro (Loftus-Cheek 67), Hazard (Giroud 84), Willian. Substitutes: Caballero, Fabregas, Christensen, Emerson.
Referee: Stuart Attwell.
Man of the match: Hazard.
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