Chelsea needed to give their fans something to cheer about after a tough defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League classic last round, but the Blues once again lacked emotional control and suffered another defeat after a red card, allowing Brighton to come back and win 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
It is important to note that Enzo Maresca's team started the match very well, controlling the offensive actions and seeking to impose themselves on the offensive field. That is precisely why we can say that the hosts started well, with early moves by Enzo Fernández and Reece James requiring interventions from Bart Verbruggen, pressure that ended up paying off for the Blues in the first half.
Moisés Caicedo played a clever pass down the right to James, whose cross was deflected into the path of Fernández. The Argentine appeared unmarked at the far post to head home and put Chelsea ahead in the 24th minute, leaving the atmosphere very calm in favor of the Blues before halftime.
Chelsea once again has players sent off and shows lack of control
Everything pointed to Chelsea naturally extending their lead in the second half, but a misplaced pass from Andrey Santos gifted Diego Gómez a clear scoring opportunity, and Trevoh Chalobah's desperate intervention stopped play. After a VAR review, Chalobah was sent off for denying a clear scoring opportunity, leaving Chelsea with ten men for the second week in a row and completely changing the complexion of the match.
After the sending off, Brighton grew in confidence. Welbeck wasted a good chance when he stretched to reach a loose ball but shot wide, before redeeming himself minutes later. Rising to head in a cross from Yankuba Minteh, he sent the ball into the back of Robert Sánchez's net in the 77th minute, tying the match.
Chelsea survived a scare when VAR ruled out a possible penalty for Brighton after a foul by Malo Gusto, but their resistance finally crumbled in stoppage time. Finally, Maxim De Cuyper headed home his first goal for Brighton to complete the comeback in the 92nd minute, before Welbeck scored again on the counterattack to punish the disorganized defense of a Blues side that needs to show greater mental control.