It’s only preseaoson, but Chelsea fans could be forgiven for possibly sewing seeds of hope as the new Premier League season draws closer.
Following a 5-0 demolition of Welsh minnows Wrexham a few days prior, Chelsea picked a strong Brighton & Hove Albion side apart to collect a 4-3 victory from Philadelphia in the Premier League Summer Series.
While Brighton were up to the task in the first half, with the score level at 1-1 at the break thanks to goals from Danny Welbeck and Christopher Nkunku, Chelsea snatched hold of the match after the break and put themselves well in front. It was aided by a red card on the hour mark to Brighton defender Jan Paul van Heck who picked up his second yellow and left the Seagulls a man down for a third of the match.
Once they had the advantage, Chelsea’s deeper squad took charge. Mykhaylo Mudryk put the Blues in front shortly after the van Heck red, while Conor Gallagher and Nico Jackson added two more. Brighton got a pair of late consolation goals from Joao Pedro and Denis Undav, with the former impressing on his debut for the club, but it wasn’t enough. Brighton’s late surge could largely be chalked up to the disjointed nature of friendlies doing much to nullify Chelsea’s man advantage as the substitutions mounted.
Mudryk and Jackson were the most impressive Blues players, while Cesare Casadei was also bright off the bench and Ben Chilwell was strong early. Brighton will be buoyed by Pedro’s star performance late despite the defeat.
Chelsea vs Brighton live score
| Score (2H) | Goals | |
| Chelsea | 4 | Nkunku (19′), Mudryk (64′), Gallagher (72′), Jackson (74′) |
| Brighton | 3 | Welbeck (13′), Pedro (79′), Undav (89′) |
Starting lineups:
Chelsea (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Kepa (GK) — 34. Gusto, 37. Colwill (Hall, 82′), 6. Silva (Chalobah, 46′), 21. Chilwell (Cucurella, 46′) — 39. Santos (Fernandez, 63′), 30. Chukwuemeka (Casadei, 46′), 23. Gallagher — 17. Sterling (Angelo, 63′), 45. Nkunku (Jackson, 63′), 38. Maatsen (Mudryk, 46′).
Brighton (4-2-3-1, right to left): 23. Steele (GK — Verbruggen, 46′) — 41. Hinshelwood, 29. Van Hecke (red card, 60′), 4. Webster (Ayari, 53′), 13. Gross (Weir, 66′) — 8. Dahoud (Veltman, 46′), 27. Gilmour (Alzate, 53′) — 7. March (Undav, 46′), 14. Lallana (Adingra, 46′), 22. Mitoma (Enciso, 53′) — 18. Welbeck (Pedro, 53′).