Chelsea have suffered a painful defeat in the Premier League. The Londoners lost 4-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion, the former employer of manager Graham Potter. Halfway through, Chelsea trailed 3-0, partly due to two own goals. Just after the break, Kai Havertz did something back on behalf of the Blues, but Pascal Groß finally decided the game. Due to the defeat, Chelsea can be passed by number six Manchester United in the rankings on Sunday. Brighton meanwhile climbs to seventh place.
At Chelsea, which managed to win 1-2 in the Champions League against Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday, two other players were at the kick-off compared to that game. Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were allowed to show it against Brighton from the first minute, at the expense of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Jorginho. The latter started on the bench, as did Hakim Ziyech. The Brighton side was missing Joël Veltman, who was out with an injury against Manchester City last week (3-1 defeat).
?? Unfortunate return for Graham Potter at Brighton… The home side is ahead 2-0 after an own goal by Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Can Chelsea still fight their way back into the game? Live: https://t.co/HNyEwU1LwE#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/kJ8Znxfx2H
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) October 29, 2022
Brighton opened the score before the end of the fifth minute of play. Thanks to an excellent pass from Kaoru Mitoma, Leandro Trossard came face to face with goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was outwitted with a well-thought-out marker: 1-0. The lead was doubled ten minutes later, when Loftus-Cheek unfortunately passed his own goalkeeper. Chelsea conceded the third goal just before half-time. This time Trevoh Chalobah was the unlucky one: the centre-back also unintentionally defeated Kepa in an attempt to intercept a pass: 3-0.
?? What a luxury for Brighton! Another Chelsea own goal. This time Trevoh Chalobah works the ball into his own goal. 3-0 at halftime for Brighton… ?? https://t.co/HNyEwTJCiw#ViaplaySportNL #ViaplayFootball pic.twitter.com/FnFJCQflWq
— Viaplay Sport Netherlands (@viaplaysportnl) October 29, 2022
Early in the second half, Havertz headed in the 3-1 on a pass from Conor Gallagher. In the following phase, the visitors had most of the ball, but initially that did not lead to really great opportunities. Only twenty minutes before the end came the substitute Aubameyang with a shot close to the connecting goal, but goalkeeper Robert Sánchez saved. Ten minutes before the end, Ziyech was allowed to come in, but he also failed to create any chances. In stoppage time, Groß also made the 4-1 from the rebound. With that, the drama was complete for Chelsea, which suffered its first Premier League defeat since the end of August after two draws in the previous two league matches.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 29 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 28 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 26 |
| 4 | Newcastle United | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 24 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
| 8 | Fulham | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 18 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 16 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | -3 | 16 |
| 11 | Brentford | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | -3 | 15 |
| 12 | West Ham United | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -1 | 14 |
| 13 | Everton | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 13 |
| 14 | AFC Bournemouth | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -16 | 13 |
| 15 | Aston Villa | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -9 | 12 |
| 16 | Southampton | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | -9 | 12 |
| 17 | Leicester City | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | -4 | 11 |
| 18 | Wolverhampton W. | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | -13 | 10 |
| 19 | Leeds United | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -5 | 9 |
| 20 | Nottingham Forest | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | -15 | 9 |