Taking a large leap in direction of securing a top-six return, Chelsea claimed a 2-1 victory away at Brighton on Wednesday night time.
Now on the cusp of reserving a Europa League ticket, Mauricio Pochettino’s males opened the scoring simply after the half hour mark because the record-breaking Cole Palmer notched a twenty second Premier League strike of the season.
Watching French worldwide Christopher Nkunku come off the bench and calmly end Male Gusto’s cutback 14 minutes after the restart, the Blues have now gained all of their earlier 4 appearances on the bounce.
Welcoming Bournemouth to west London for his or her last showdown of the season on Sunday afternoon, a single level might be sufficient to formally clinch their top-six spot.
Though Chelsea might need prolonged on their Premier League romp right here, there was a bitter be aware late on.
England worldwide Reece James – who was enjoying simply his second match of 2024 – was proven a straight purple card after kicking out at Joao Pedro.
Whereas ex-Manchester United Danny Welbeck might need bagged a late comfort strike for Brighton deep in stoppage time, the Seagulls are limping their method over the ending line.
Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat implies that Brighton have now registered only a single victory from any of their earlier 9 Premier League appearances.
On an evening when Chelsea took a large leap in direction of reserving a Europa League spot, we have now taken a have a look at the principle speaking factors from the Amex.
Chelsea storming their approach to a European return
Whereas Pochettino might need failed to verify if he would nonetheless be within the Stamford Bridge dugout subsequent season, Chelsea are having fun with what has been a outstanding finish to the 2023/24 marketing campaign.
Though Wednesday’s visitors might need opened the New Yr searching for a minor miracle of their bid to e-book a vital European return, the previous Tottenham boss now finds the temper in his camp at a red-hot excessive.
Opening Could with a rampant 6-0 victory in opposition to London rivals West Ham, the Blues have now gained all of their earlier 4 Premier League appearances by an combination rating of 12-3.
Regardless of struggling FA Cup heartbreak by the hands of Manchester Metropolis final month, Chelsea have suffered only a single defeat from any of their final 16 consecutive top-flight matchups – a purple patch that stems all the best way again to February 4th.
Now needing only a level on Sunday afternoon after they welcome Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge, Pochettino’s facet are sat firmly within the driving seat to assert a Europa League ticket.
Palmer is the Signing of the Season
Whereas lots of Chelsea’s big-money arrivals might need struggled to seek out any form of stability since arriving in west London, Palmer has definitely underlined his standing because the Signing of the Season.
Making a late summer season transfer away from Manchester Metropolis final summer season after publicly stating that he needs common first-team motion, the England worldwide has loved a outstanding rise to superstardom.
With many tipping Chelsea’s new talisman as a number one contender to be topped PFA Participant of the Yr, Palmer has continued to interrupt a string of information since arriving at Stamford Bridge.
Nearly single-handedly dragging Chelsea to a profitable European return, Palmer has recorded 22 Premier League objectives to this point this season and is just sat behind former Metropolis teammate Erling Haaland within the race for the Golden Boot.
Solely becoming a member of Chelsea final summer season for a price of £40million, the 22-year-old is one in all European soccer’s hottest stars and is predicted to play a number one position when the Three Lions arrive in Germany for the European Championships.
De Zerbi going through criticism
Whereas De Zerbi might need acquired loads of plaudits since changing Graham Potter on the Amex in September 2022, Brighton have drastically struggled to seek out any form of consistency this season.
Regardless of opening Could with a 1-0 victory in opposition to newly-appointed Champions League outfit Aston Villa, that’s the solely win that the Seagulls have collected from any of their earlier 9 Premier League appearances.
Crashing out of their maiden Europa League journey again in March as they slumped to a routine 4-1 combination defeat by the hands of Italian giants Roma, Wednesday’s hosts have the texture of a squad limping their method over the ending line.
Though there might need been loads of hypothesis over the previous few months that De Zerbi is attracting loads of heavyweight European curiosity, the ex-Sassuolo boss is receiving some deserved criticism.
Whereas Brighton might need been coping with an damage disaster behind the scenes on the Amex, they’ve didn’t safe consecutive Premier League wins because the finish of September.
Match Report
Brighton: Verbruggen, Lamptey, Webster, Dunk, Igor, Gross, Gilmour, Buonanotte, Enciso, Adinera, Pedro
Subs: Barco, Welbeck, Baleba, Fati, Offiah
Chelsea: Petrovic, Gusto, Chalobah, Badiashile, Cucurella, Gallagher, Caicedo, Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk, Jackson
Subs: Sterling, Nkunku, James, Silva, Casadei, Ugochukwu
Objectives: Brighton: Welbeck (90+7’) – Chelsea: Palmer (34’), Nkunku (64’)
Yellow Playing cards: Brighton: Dunk, Verbruggen – Chelsea: Sterling, Caicedo
Purple Playing cards: James
Referee: Michael Salisbury
