Brighton 3-0 Chelsea: Mitoma displays ‘Messi-like’ brilliance as Seagulls record second win over Blues in under a week | OneFootball

However, the scoreline was different, as Brighton ran out 3-0 winners, and that man Kaoru Mitoma found the net once again while Yankuba Minteh registered a brace.

From last weekend’s match, the hosts made one change: Adam Webster replaced Lewis Dunk, who is sidelined due to a rib injury. Filip Jorgensen, Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez, and Noni Madueke (who left the field before 20 minutes due to a suspected hamstring injury.) returned to Enzo Maresca’s starting lineup.

Brighton ended a five-match winless streak at home, while Chelsea couldn’t avoid a fifth consecutive winless game on the road. They will be pleased to see the back of Mitoma, whose opening goal may be in contention for the best of the Premier League season.

Bart Verbruggen launched a goal kick downfield. Mitoma expertly controlled the ball with an extraordinary touch, then raced forward and curled it into the bottom right corner of the net.

Verbruggen, who had scored an own goal in their previous FA Cup meeting, ended the game with an assist, much to Dutch national team manager Ronald Koeman’s bemusement with him watching from the stands.

“The touch is as good as anything you will see in the Premier League this season – and the finish isn’t bad either,” Jamie Carragher exclaimed on Sky Sports commentary. “That’s Messi-like. And I don’t say that lightly. Pure genius.”

Mitoma has scored three goals in his last five Premier League matches, matching the total he netted in his previous 33 combined games (three).

“I think we should all be saying a big thank you to Paul Barber and David Weir of Brighton for not taking that money from Saudi Arabia for Mitoma,” Carragher added.

“We wouldn’t have witnessed that goal. It was a huge offer. £70m-£80m. That first touch was worth £80m on its own.”

Chelsea quickly responded and managed to get the ball into the net; however, Enzo Fernandez was penalized for pushing, which proved to be a costly mistake. Shortly after, Yankuba Minteh doubled Brighton’s lead at the other end. Jørgensen, who was starting in place of Robert Sánchez, did not cover himself in glory once again.

“Chelsea just aren’t good enough defensively. They’re not,” Carragher added. “We keep talking about the goalkeeper but it’s more than that. They’re good players individually but there doesn’t look real authority there in that back four.”

Things did not improve after the half, with more poor defending in the build-up to Minteh’s second goal just after the hour mark. This marked his first brace in English football, with tonight being his 23rd appearance for Brighton. “Watch Sancho with Minteh. Where’s he going?” asked Carragher. “Minteh then goes inside Cucurella – awful defending from the left-back again.”

Chelsea’s performance was not only marked by their defence; they also struggled offensively, attempting just eight shots in the game—their lowest total in a single match in the Premier League this season. Notably, none of those shots were on target, a feat they last accomplished in England’s top division back in September 2021 against Manchester City.

Maresca, who stated before kickoff that the current club is “not the same” as the one that consistently challenged for the Premier League title over the last 20 years, now faces a struggle to keep his side’s hopes of a top-four finish alive.

Chelsea have won only two of their last nine league matches, and their brief flirtation with the title race before Christmas has long since waned. The Blues were just two points behind leaders Liverpool on December 22, but they have only collected nine points from their last nine games, reinforcing Maresca’s claim that his young team is ill-equipped to become champions for the first time since 2017.

They’ve appeared slow and disjointed, struggling to create chances in defeats against Brighton, Ipswich, Fulham, and Manchester City during this difficult period though Maresca reiterated his frequent call for patience.

“This club for the next five, 10 years can compete for titles no doubt,” he said. “In this moment we are in a process to arrive in that position.

“But we are not ready after six months together. There are clubs that are together three, four, five years and they still struggle. Why Chelsea after six months have to win the Premier League or finish top four? Why?

“We are all ambitious. I try to convince the players every day that this club belongs to something different than where we are now.”

Some Blues supporters are concerned that this attitude reflects a lack of ambition from their club, and Carragher couldn’t believe Maresca’s comments when he was informed. He pointed out, as many others have, the significant amount of money spent in recent years, plus we are talking about a club that has won the European Cup twice in the modern era.

Brighton, meanwhile, responded impressively to their humiliating 7-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest (and before that a 1-0 home loss to Everton) with a pair of wins over Chelsea. The first advanced them into the FA Cup fifth round, while this latest victory bolstered their hopes of qualifying for European football next season.

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