Chelsea 4-3 Brighton: Palmer stunner settles seven-goal thriller

Chelsea made it two Premier League wins from two under manager Xabi Alonso after beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 in an entertaining game at Stamford Bridge.

Roméo Lavia and Pedro Neto put Chelsea two goals ahead inside 14 minutes before João Pedro added a third against his former club. Malick Junior Yalcouyé pulled one back before half-time, and Brighton cut the deficit again when João Pedro turned Pascal Groß’s cross into his own net.

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With Chelsea beginning to lose control of the game, Cole Palmer restored their two-goal cushion with an excellent individual finish in the 74th minute. Groß headed in Brighton’s third deep into stoppage time, but there was no time for another attack as Chelsea held on for the win.

As it happened

Chelsea were ahead after just four minutes. João Pedro flicked on a corner at the near post and Mats Wieffer initially cleared off the line, but a mix-up with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen left the ball loose for Lavia to finish from close range.

The hosts doubled their lead 10 minutes later. Morgan Rogers carried the ball away from several Brighton players before sending a low cross into the six-yard box, where Neto arrived to turn it past Verbruggen.

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Brighton had plenty of the ball but were repeatedly caught when Chelsea broke forward. That happened again in the 32nd minute when Jorrel Hato drove from his own half before finding João Pedro, who took a touch and finished calmly to make it 3-0.

The visitors responded three minutes later. Yalcouyé released Charalampos Kostoulas in behind and, after new Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez blocked the striker’s attempt, the midfielder followed up with a first-time finish off the post.

Brighton carried that improvement into the second half and made it 3-2 in the 63rd minute. Groß stayed onside following a corner and crossed from the right, with João Pedro’s attempted block diverting the ball beyond Martínez and into his own net.

Chelsea were under pressure for the first time in the match, but Palmer gave them breathing room 11 minutes later. João Pedro found the England midfielder outside the area, and Palmer carried the ball towards goal before driving a left-footed strike into the bottom corner.

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Brighton continued to push and Groß headed home from a late set-piece in the sixth minute of stoppage time. The goal made it 4-3, but the final whistle followed almost immediately as Chelsea took all three points.

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