Chelsea faced off against Brighton in a blockbuster 7-goal affair for the Blues second preseason match of the 2023/24 campaign. Chelsea would take the victory 4-3 in an incredibly positive performance to make it 2 wins in 2 for Mauricio Pochettino.
The game was a battle of 2 halves. Brighton proved to be the dominant side on the ball in the first half and Chelsea were comfortable in sitting back and countering. The Blues conceded the first goal but bounced back by leveling the score before the half. In the second half the Blues were by far the more lethal side in front of goal after the Seagulls had defender Jan Paul Ven Hecke sent off. Chelsea would score 3 in the half to seal the game with goals from Mhykhailo Mudryk, Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson, despite a late attempt at a comeback from Brighton.
Chelsea player ratings vs Brighton
Defense
Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6.5/10
Kepa Arrizabalaga conceded a goal in the first half but bounced back really well to keep Chelsea in the game with some expected but crucial saves. Once again, the Spaniard can do better with his cross anticipation and positioning in set piece moments but overall decent performance. Conceded 2 more in the second half, one penalty and another in open play, he was not particularly to blame for either.
Thiago Silva – 6/10
Surprisingly Thiago Silva was quite anonymous during the game. He didn’t necessarily standout defensively as Brighton held much of the ball in the first half and were quite frankly outplaying Chelsea. Nevertheless, still a near errorless performance from Chelsea’s captain for the first half.
Levi Colwill – 7.5/10
Levi Colwill’s passing range as a defender is simply world class. Several times during the match he played a pivotal role in starting Chelsea counter attacks by spotting the runs of forwards and playing beautiful line breaking passes. Defensively there is more to be seen from the 20-year-old. He gave up a penalty to a reckless tackle in the box during the second half but overall good debut for the new season in blue.
Malo Gusto – 7/10
Malo Gusto had the toughest assignment of the night dealing with Brighton’s tricky winger Kaoru Mitoma. He has held his own defensively against the Japanese, despite being outpaced a few times he did contain Mitoma on a few occasions with great tackling and using his physicality well. Gusto’s signing is proving to be crucial for the stability of Chelsea’s right back position.