Kaoru Mitoma must be getting old to Enzo Maresca. The Japan winger’s incredible piece of control to score the first goal set up another spectacular Brighton triumph and put more pressure on Chelsea‘s boss a week after he sent them reeling out of the FA Cup.
Maresca appeared to be lost on the touchline at times as he watched his team battle to find a way back into the game after Yankuba Minteh had made it 2-0 before halftime. They have lost three of their previous four games, and Cole Palmer had a miserable night as he labored as a false 9. Any chances of a comeback were dashed by his second of the evening, which could have became a Valentine’s Day massacre had Mitoma, João Pedro or Joël Veltman taken their chances late on.
Fabian Hürzeler’s team climbed up to ninth place, six points clear of his costlyly formed squad, and the trailing group is closing in. The Chelsea manager will be wondering where the next victory is coming from.
This week, Maresca dismissed criticism from some fans, claiming that their FA Cup exit allowed them to focus on the Premier League and that the club would return to its “belonging” position if they qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2022.
The Chelsea manager chose Palmer to lead the line and moved Christopher Nkunku into a more involved role after Nicolas Jackson was ruled out for at least six weeks, which only made that task more difficult.
The home crowd had one less former player to jeer at when Filip Jörgensen was called up to replace Robert Sánchez in goal. However, every time Marc Cucurella or Moisés Caicedo touched the ball, they continued where they had left off.
After their impressive comeback last week, it was not surprising that Hürzeler named a nearly identical lineup, with captain Lewis Dunk missing out because of a rib ailment. In order to have any hope of making it to Europe next season, the Brighton manager urged his team to improve their dismal recent home performance, which has seen them lose all five of their league games here, notably to Crystal Palace and Everton.
Cucurella was fortunate to avoid a booking after upending Minteh just in front of the dugouts, raising the stakes early on. After a rushing run down the right side that ended Noni Madueke’s evening, Palmer’s second attempt was even worse, skewed way off target after he had already blazed over when he had an early sight of goal. Due to a hamstring injury, he hobbled off, and Jadon Sancho took his place.
Up until then, Brighton had only displayed hints of their menace, and they made their breakthrough by the most straightforward method. Mitoma was picked out by Bart Verbruggen, whose terrible own goal gave Chelsea the lead last week. The Japan winger’s first touch as the ball dropped over his head was flawless, and he then moved past Trevoh Chalobah and skillfully curled the ball past Jörgensen.
Chelsea did put the ball in the net, but their celebrations were stopped short when Enzo Fernández was called for a foul. Chelsea finished the first half with 71% possession but no shot on goal. Instead, the home crowd was ecstatic when Georginio Rutter’s cross was not handled by Chelsea’s careless defense, and Minteh remained composed to score the second goal from close range after Danny Welbeck had set him up. They sang, “Can we play you every week?”
For the second half, Maresca led his team out into the chilly Sussex night, but it didn’t seem like the break had much of an impact. Rutter ought to have performed better when Minteh put him up and he was only able to shoot far over. However, Minteh avoided making the same error when Welbeck again provided Brighton’s third goal after Levi Colwill gave the ball away cheaply. When Caicedo, a £115 million acquisition, made way, he was met with cries of “what a waste of money,” while Malo Gusto was pulled off for Reece James as punishment for playing him onside.
After a quick break downfield, Brighton went for the jugular, and Mitoma could only shoot directly at Jörgensen. Before Veltman struck a post via Jörgensen’s face, the Chelsea goalkeeper was lucky that replacement Pedro was unable to score after stopping a horrible pass out from the back. Maresca will be appreciative of minor favors given the way things have been going for him.
