Chelsea, for the second league game in a row, has had a man sent off and gone on to lose the match. This game also marks the third consecutive loss for Enzo Maresca’s men, starting with the defeat to Bayern Munich.
Chelsea started the game well, but a red card in the 53rd minute left the home side with an uphill battle to fight. There were few good performances and many average ones. Let’s take a look at them.
Robert Sanchez: 5.5/10
The goalkeeper is the easiest target to go after with a loss like this, but context paints him in a better light. He didn’t have anything to do in the first half, but he was dominant, collecting crosses easily. Though exposed after the red card, his positioning was poor for Brighton’s equaliser. The whole team was all over the place late in the game, fighting a man down. The Chelsea shot-stopper couldn’t do much as Brighton overwhelmed his defence.
Reece James: 7/10
James was by far Chelsea’s best player. His shooting was better than the player who played striker for the Blues on the day. It was his cross that was deflected into Fernández’s path, giving Chelsea the lead. It became difficult after the red card, and Maresca’s men couldn’t regroup fast enough to counter Brighton’s comeback.
Trevoh Chalobah: 4/10
Chalobah was OK until the 53rd minute when he got himself in trouble with his challenge on Georginio Rutter. His sending-off invited pressure onto the team, especially the backline. He has been key for the Blues, and that challenge was irresponsible.
Jorrel Hato: 5/10
Hato won all his duels, but he didn’t contest many. He was composed in the first half, but understandably frazzled after the red. He made way for Benoît Badiashile just before the 80th minute. It was a forgettable game for the 19-year-old, who was forced into center-back due to Tosin Adarabioyo’s injury.
Marc Cucurella: 4/10
Chelsea’s dominance in the first half enabled the Spaniard to get further forward. He delivered some crosses and generally posed an attacking threat, but he was more vulnerable in the second half as the Blues had to account for the extra man Brighton had.
Andrey Santos: 5.5/10
Santos didn’t even get to the hour mark, getting substituted off six minutes shy. His passing was great and his tackling was good, winning both of his tackles. However, he was as much at fault for the red card as Chalobah was.
Moisés Caicedo: 6/10
Caicedo was good, all things considered. He did his best to protect the defence, making five tackles plus interceptions. However, the second half posed different kinds of challenges. Chelsea going a man down created a problem all over the pitch. Caicedo naturally lost control of the midfield and eventually made an error that helped Brighton score their second. He won all but three of his 11 duels, and his passing was crisp, as usual.
Enzo Fernández: 7/10
He was Chelsea’s busiest midfielder by far, influencing play in every third. He helped out defensively, attempting five tackles, which was more than anyone else in Chelsea blue. He also won 7 of 12 ground duels and accounted for two out of the home side’s three shots on target. Scoring the Blues’ only goal also gives him extra points.
Estevão: 5.5/10
Estevão was forced to do more defensive work after the red card, but he was more involved in the final third before it. He did well defensively too. Unfortunately, his shot selection was poor.
Pedro Neto: 6/10
Neto’s crossing was good, but his dribbling was not quite as sharp. Like every other forward, he got much less involved after the Blues were reduced to 10 men. He won some fouls and took a few shots but was ultimately unable to impact the game with goals.
João Pedro: 4/10
Once again, Pedro racked up duel numbers but took zero shots. He’s occupying spaces an attacking midfielder should be, and this isn’t good enough. This is the issue with strikers like Pedro: he doesn’t stay in position and always wants the ball. Fernández, a midfielder, took four shots while Pedro—a striker—took none. Not good enough.
Josh Acheampong (54’): 4/10
Acheampong had a horrendous night. He lost all his duels and even made an error leading to a goal. It’s not totally his fault, though, as the Blues were playing at a disadvantage from his first minute on the pitch. He’d probably have wanted to come on in different circumstances.
Malo Gusto (63’): 4/10
Gusto came on with 27 minutes of regulation time left but couldn’t get involved on the offensive end of the pitch. He won 3 of 4 ground duels, but there wasn’t much he could do to influence the scoreline.
Benoît Badiashile (79’): 5/10
It was good to see the 24-year-old Frenchman return to the pitch after several months sidelined through injury. With just 11 minutes to play, all the former AS Monaco defender could do was react to what was going on in the game. The match was well out of Chelsea’s control by the time Badiashile came on.
Roméo Lavia (79’): 5/10
To Lavia’s credit, he made two interceptions in the 11 minutes he played. He, of course, didn’t get on the ball much, though his distribution was still good. It was good to see him return to the lineup as well. The youngster’s time at Chelsea has been filled with injuries.
Enzo Maresca: 5/10
It’s difficult to judge Maresca because of the red card, but he has not been helping himself. In today’s game, everything started falling apart when Chalobah got himself sent off, but the case can be made that the way the team was set up left the defence exposed, creating the possibility of the red card. The Blues were exposed that way against Manchester United too, for Sánchez’s red.