Chelsea manager Graham Potter said he has “nothing to say sorry for” after he was subjected to a hostile reception from Brighton fans before the Blues’ 4-1 Premier League defeat at Amex Stadium.
Potter led Brighton to their highest ever top-flight finish of ninth last season before leaving the Seagulls for Stamford Bridge six games into the current campaign.
The 52-year-old was booed before kick-off by the home fans, who chanted “Potter, Potter, what’s the score?” in the direction of the away dugout after Leandro Trossard’s strike and own goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah had given the hosts a comfortable half-time lead.
Asked about the Brighton supporters’ animosity, Potter said: “People are entitled to their opinions. I think I did a good job at the club and left it in a good place.
“Once the crowd were so engaged it was a difficult one for us. The scoreline is a painful one.”
Kai Havertz nodded in Conor Gallagher’s exquisite cross to give the visitors hope, but Pascal Gross capped a miserable afternoon for Potter and his players with a close-range finish after Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy parried Julio Enciso’s shot into the German’s path.
‘We have to take responsibility’
After emerging from the Amex Stadium tunnel to a chorus of boos, matters only got worse for Potter as his side produced a defensive horror show to gift Brighton a dream start.
In a chaotic opening, Trossard’s calm finish put the home side in front after Thiago Silva – who had already produced two goalline clearances to deny the Seagulls – surrendered possession cheaply in his own half.
Like Brighton’s first, the hosts’ second and third goals were entirely self-inflicted. Loftus-Cheek stuck out a knee to inadvertently steer Gallagher’s flick-on into the net via the crossbar, before Estupinan’s delivery was guided past his own keeper by the somewhat unfortunate Chalobah.
“We didn’t recover,” Potter said afterwards. “We have to take responsibility a bit for the first half. We have had a lot of football but that’s no excuse. We couldn’t quite get to that level.”
Chelsea did have chances of their own – Christian Pulisic firing wide from a promising position and Robert Sanchez tipping Gallagher’s looping header over the crossbar – but Havertz’s header early in the second half failed to spark a revival and Gross finished off an incisive counter-attack late on to rub salt into the visitors’ wounds.
“Unfortunately we missed the pass or didn’t execute it,” the Chelsea boss continued. “We didn’t take our chances and they did.
“It’s part of the process, You have to suffer and feel pain in order to grow and get better. Nobody said we’re the finished article. We have to take the pain today and learn from it.”
‘Our fans were the best player’
A run of five games without a win since Potter’s departure did not make pleasant pre-match reading for Seagulls supporters or their new coaching staff, but Chelsea were unable to cope with Brighton’s high pressing in the early stages as De Zerbi’s team threatened to run riot.
Only Glenn Murray and Neal Maupay have scored more Premier League goals for the Seagulls than in-form Trossard, whose early opener – his 25th in the league for the club – made him the first player to score a team’s first five top-flight goals under a new manager.
Had it not been for Silva’s two last-ditch clearances and a close-range Moises Caicedo effort which struck the outside of the post, Brighton could have been even further ahead by half-time.
The Seagulls’ second-half display was more measured as Chelsea sought a route back into the game, but De Zerbi’s side never looked like surrendering their healthy lead – even after Havertz’s strike.
“We must continue to play this level of football,” De Zerbi said afterwards. “We have to think only about the level of performance.
“The atmosphere was fantastic. Our fans were the best player on the pitch and it is very nice to work in Brighton. I am proud for this.”
The win is Brighton’s first in the league over Chelsea, who had won 10 and drawn four of the teams’ previous 14 meetings.
Player of the match
TrossardLeandro Trossard
Brighton & Hove Albion
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Squad number11Player nameTrossardAverage rating
8.27
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Squad number5Player nameDunkAverage rating
8.23
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Squad number2Player nameLamptey
Average rating8.15
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Squad number7Player nameMarch
Average rating8.04
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Squad number22Player nameMitoma
Average rating8.03
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Squad number25Player nameCaicedo
Average rating7.94
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Squad number10Player nameMac Allister
Average rating7.94
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Squad number30Player nameEstupiñán
Average rating7.90
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Squad number19Player nameSarmiento
Average rating7.89
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Squad number14Player nameLallana
Average rating7.83
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Squad number13Player nameGroß
Average rating7.68
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Squad number4Player nameWebster
Average rating7.67
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Squad number20Player nameEnciso
Average rating7.63
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Squad number1Player nameSánchez
Average rating7.41
Chelsea
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Squad number19Player nameMount
Average rating4.27
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Squad number29Player nameHavertz
Average rating4.20
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Squad number23Player nameGallagher
Average rating4.15
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Squad number21Player nameChilwell
Average rating4.02
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Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva
Average rating3.95
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Squad number8Player nameKovacic
Average rating3.85
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Squad number16Player nameMendy
Average rating3.69
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Squad number1Player nameArrizabalaga
Average rating3.61
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Squad number10Player namePulisic
Average rating3.50
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Squad number14Player nameChalobah
Average rating3.35
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Squad number32Player nameCucurella
Average rating3.34
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Squad number9Player nameAubameyang
Average rating3.33
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Squad number22Player nameZiyech
Average rating3.20
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Squad number12Player nameLoftus-Cheek
Average rating3.19
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Squad number18Player nameBroja
Average rating3.15
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Squad number17Player nameSterling
Average rating3.14
Line-ups
Brighton
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Sánchez
- 13Groß
- 4Webster
- 5Dunk
- 30Estupiñán
- 25Caicedo
- 10Mac Allister
- 7March
- 14LallanaSubstituted forEncisoat 65′minutesBooked at 83mins
- 22MitomaSubstituted forLampteyat 73′minutes
- 11TrossardSubstituted forSarmientoat 87′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Lamptey
- 19Sarmiento
- 20Enciso
- 21Undav
- 23Steele
- 27Gilmour
- 43Turns
- 47Furlong
- 49Moran
Chelsea
Formation 3-4-2-1
- 1ArrizabalagaSubstituted forMendyat 45′minutes
- 14Chalobah
- 6Thiago Silva
- 32CucurellaSubstituted forChilwellat 64′minutes
- 10PulisicSubstituted forBrojaat 79′minutes
- 12Loftus-Cheek
- 8KovacicBooked at 11mins
- 17SterlingBooked at 50minsSubstituted forAubameyangat 63′minutes
- 23GallagherSubstituted forZiyechat 79′minutes
- 19Mount
- 29Havertz
Substitutes
- 5Jorginho
- 9Aubameyang
- 16Mendy
- 18Broja
- 20Zakaria
- 21Chilwell
- 22Ziyech
- 28Azpilicueta
- 56Hutchinson
- Referee:
- Andy Madley
- Attendance:
- 31,746
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 4, Chelsea 1.
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Second Half ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 4, Chelsea 1.
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Attempt missed. Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Pervis Estupiñán.
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Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion 4, Chelsea 1. Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.
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Attempt saved. Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
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Attempt saved. Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Alexis Mac Allister.
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Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Pervis Estupiñán.
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Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Jeremy Sarmiento (Brighton and Hove Albion).
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Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Jeremy Sarmiento replaces Leandro Trossard.
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Attempt missed. Kai Havertz (Chelsea) left footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
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Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Foul by Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion).
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Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Julio Enciso (Brighton and Hove Albion).
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Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Foul by Solly March (Brighton and Hove Albion).
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Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Pascal Groß (Brighton and Hove Albion).
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