Ten-player Chelsea impressively battled to a win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, with their action-packed 3-2 victory over Brighton lifting them back into the top half of the Premier League table.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were made to work for their win and were enthralled in yet another chaotic game which saw Conor Gallagher sent off just before half-time for a second yellow card.
Here are the five things we learned from Chelsea’s victory.
Chelsea’s lack of composure persists
Three weeks ago, Chelsea played out a 4-4 thriller against Manchester City and on the stroke of half-time, they went asleep to allow City back into the game via a cheap goal from a set-piece.
Fast forward to today’s game against Brighton and Mauricio Pochettino’s side have seemingly not learnt their lesson. Comfortably in control and leading by two goals, Chelsea were pegged back by Facundo Buonanotte’s fine curler before seeing Conor Gallagher dismissed for a second yellow card.
Game management will certainly be top of the priority list for Pochettino going forward.
Ten-man Chelsea show resilience
Despite lacking some experience in knowing when to take the sting out of a game, Chelsea deserve their fair praise for how they responded to Gallagher’s sending-off.
With the red card coming just before half-time, it made the situation easier for Pochettino who was able to restructure his team at the interval.
Chelsea dug deep, relinquished possession to Brighton and got the all-important insurance goal when Enzo Fernandez converted from the spot after Mykhailo Mudryk was brought down by James Milner inside the area.
Many would be forgiven for thinking that Brighton would run riot in the second half but Chelsea deserve huge praise for the way they stifled the opposition.
Lacklustre Brighton will concern De Zerbi
Excluding a period of dominance just before half-time, Brighton were unusually poor with their chance creation.
Once Chelsea deployed a low block after going a man down, Brighton had very little joy centrally and were forced out wide on every occasion. Every cross that was sent into the area was more often than not dealt with by the imperious Thiago Silva and co.
Only when Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro and Pascal Gross were introduced from the bench did Brighton gather a foothold in the game and fans will probably begin to question De Zerbi’s squad rotation choices given the impact they had.
Thiago Silva recovers from Newcastle howler
Chelsea collectively as a unit defended so well when they went down to ten men, but it was spearheaded by a commanding performance from Thiago Silva.
After making a shocking error against Newcastle United last weekend, Silva returned to his familiar best at the back and played a leading role in fending off Brighton’s second-half surge.
Regardless of what form De Zerbi’s men are in, they are always a difficult team to contain and without Silva today Chelsea may have wilted when the visitors started to apply the pressure after the hour mark.
If this current crop of youthful Chelsea players are to mature, Silva’s presence will be imperative along the way.
Chelsea out of control against the top sides
Another week and yet another chaotic Chelsea fixture for fans to indulge in. Three weeks on from what will probably be the game of the season, Pochettino’s men were once again enthralled in a tumultuous Premier League match against Brighton having come off the back of a drubbing against Newcastle the week before.
At the moment, Chelsea are making life so difficult with this helter-skelter approach to games and it’s hard to find a game against teams in the top ten where they have been in control.
Only in their victories against Burnley, Luton, and Fulham has Pochettino’s side had restraint on their opponents but in games against the top sides there is no predicting which Chelsea will turn up.
Having said all that, Chelsea are still getting results amid these manic games but Pochettino will hope for a more routine approach as the season progresses.
