Chelsea vs Brighton standings after 4-3 win
Chelsea survived a late Brighton push to win 4-3 at Stamford Bridge and stay perfect under Xabi Alonso. Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer scored for the…
LONDON — Chelsea beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to preserve their perfect start to the new Premier League season under Xabi Alonso. The result mattered quickly: Romeo Lavia scored inside four minutes, and Chelsea never fully lost control despite Brighton’s late surge.
The Blues built a three-goal lead through Lavia, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro before Brighton fought back to make it tense. Cole Palmer restored Chelsea’s two-goal cushion in the 74th minute, and Brighton’s stoppage-time header from Pascal Gross came too late to complete the comeback.
Chelsea vs Brighton standings and the early damage
Chelsea needed only four minutes to strike. On a corner, Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen fumbled under pressure after Mats Wieffer had blocked Joao Pedro’s header on the line, and Lavia tapped in for his first Chelsea goal.
The second goal came in the 10th minute. Morgan Rogers got the better of Luka Vuskovic down the left and crossed for Pedro Neto, who finished past Ferdi Kadioglu. Chelsea made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute when Jorrel Hato beat Wieffer for pace and found Joao Pedro, scoring against his former club.
Brighton answered before halftime. Chelsea debutant Emi Martinez came off his line to deny Charalampos Kostoulas, but Malick Yalcouye volleyed in the loose ball to keep the visitors alive.
Brighton kept pressing
Brighton started the second half strongly and cut the deficit again in the 63rd minute. Yalcouye set up Pascal Gross, and Gross’s shot took a heavy deflection off Joao Pedro before beating Martinez.
Then Chelsea showed a sharper edge. Palmer, who had earlier missed from close range, curled a superb effort past Verbruggen from outside the box in the 74th minute. Clean finish. Big moment.
Brighton still pushed to the end and found a third through Gross’s header in stoppage time, but the final whistle arrived before they could force another chance. The visitors had plenty of the ball — Sky Sports said Chelsea were limited to 25.6 per cent possession, their lowest share on record in a Premier League match — yet they could not turn that control into a point.
What the result means
For Chelsea, the win keeps Alonso’s start perfect and gives the club another high-scoring league result to build on. It also showed a different side to their performance: a fast start, then enough composure to survive when Brighton raised the pressure and made the game uncomfortable.
There were warning signs, though. Enzo Fernandez was left out of the squad for a second straight game amid interest from Manchester City, while Moises Caicedo had to come off injured soon after returning for his first appearance of the season. Those absences and injuries could shape Chelsea’s next stretch if the squad is stretched again.
Brighton left with nothing, despite creating enough moments to change the story. Chelsea, for now, leave Stamford Bridge with six points from two games under Alonso and a 4-3 scoreline that will be remembered for the pace of the opening 32 minutes and Palmer’s calm finish when it mattered most.
