Chelsea held off a Brighton fightback to clinch a thrilling 4-3 victory and continue their winning start under manager Xabi Alonso.

2026/2027 Premier League

4-3

Match Report

Chelsea held off a Brighton fightback to clinch a thrilling 4-3 victory and continue their winning start under manager Xabi Alonso.

The Blues raced into a three-goal lead through Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and former Brighton forward Joao Pedro in a scintillating opening period at Stamford Bridge but the visitors responded.

Malick Yalcoule slammed home before the break to give them hope and they reduced the deficit to one goal when a Pascal Gross shot deflected off Joao Pedro and beyond Emiliano Martinez, who was making his debut following his £7.5m arrival from Aston Villa.

Brighton had further chances, with Diego Gomez going close and Martinez making some fine stops, but Cole Palmer found the bottom corner in superb style for Chelsea's fourth, meaning a Gross header in stoppage time was too little too late for the visitors.

Chelsea were without Enzo Fernandez, who was left out of the squad for a second consecutive Premier League game amid interest from Manchester City, while Moises Caicedo had to come off injured soon after coming on for his first appearance of the season.

But the victory continues a positive start under Alonso. The Chelsea manager has issues to address defensively but, after their 3-2 win over Fulham on the opening day, this was another game in which their new-look attack has got them over the line.

What the result means and next fixtures...

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

0' Ancelotti and Tuchel are here at the Stamford Bridge


0' Match Event for Chelsea vs Brighton

4' GOAL! Verbruggen makes a huge mistake and Lavia has an easy goal! Chelsea 1-0 Brighton

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14' GOAL! A cross from Rogers finds Neto, and he buries the ball into the net! Chelsea 2-0 Brighton



25' Joao Pedro receives a pass inside the box and takes a shot that flies just wide

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29' Yalcouye volleys from point blank range towards the goal, but Emi Martinez makes an amazing save

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32' GOAL! Jorrel Hato sends a pass to Joao Pedro, who buries the ball into the net! Chelsea 3-0 Brighton



35' GOAL! Yalcouye finds the back of the net with a good effort! Chelsea 3-1 Brighton



41' Rogers is teed up with a simple pass after a nice flowing move, but his shot curls just wide

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49' Joao Pedro has a clear goal scoring opportunity, but his shot is blocked by a defender

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58' An inch-perfect cross into the box finds Palmer who loops his header high over the bar

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62' Diego Gomez meets a pass and shoots towards the goal, but Emi pulls off an easy save

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63' OWN GOAL! Joao Pedro scores an unlucky own goal after he deflects a shot! Chelsea 3-2 Brighton



67' Caicedo, Acheampong and Reece James come on in place of Pedro Neto, Fofana and Lavia

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69' Boscagli blasts the ball towards the net, but Emi dives superbly to deny him

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70' Dunk receives a yellow card after an awful tackle

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74' GOAL! Palmer unleashes a magnificent effort into the bottom left corner! Chelsea 4-2 Brighton



81' Caicedo has picked up an injury and is replaced by Valentin Barco

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96' GOAL! Chelsea 4-3 Brighton (Pascal Groß)

Line-ups

Chelsea XI: E. Martinez, Pedro Neto, Maxence Lacroix, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, João Pedro, Colwill, Gusto, Lavia, Jorrel Hato

Subs: Welbeck, Reece James, Pep Chavarría, Caicedo, Gittens, Valentín Barco, Josh Acheampong, Mike Penders, Estêvão

Brighton XI: Gross, Dunk, Olivier Boscagli, Ferdi Kadıoğlu, Maxim De Cuyper, Mats Wieffer, Bart Verbruggen, Diego Gómez, Luka Vuskovic, Charalampos Kostoulas, Malick Yalcouyé

Subs: Steele, Pascal Struijk, Matt O'Riley, Costinha, Jaouen Hadjam, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Promise David, Ibrahim Osman, Nehemiah Oriola