BRIGHTON, England – If Graham Potter has any doubts about what awaits him on his return trip Brighton on Saturday, it dissipated as the players emerged to begin when home fans adapted the Beatles’ classic “Hey Jude” into “Hey Judas”.
It has been a mild and extremely embarrassing afternoon for the 47-year-old, who abruptly left Brighton last month after three successful years to replace Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge. Saturday 4-1 loss was the first time he became Blues boss and at the same time the first victory for his successor on the south coast, Roberto De Zerbi, at the sixth attempt.
Brighton was magnificent, easily enthralled by the prospect of being able to tell Potter that the step he had taken did not elevate him to an untouchable perch. And this isn’t just about Potter. Marc CucurellaThe defender has made a summer transfer request to join City of Manchester before Chelsea paid a higher transfer fee (£62m) to get their man, had his first face-to-face booed. Worse then when he delayed taking the throw-in early.
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As of now, seven coaches, staff and players have traded Brighton for Chelsea, a stream of talent that has clearly angered home fans.
“I don’t have any expectations,” Potter said. “I have nothing to say sorry, I have nothing to apologize for. I did a great job. You can see the team is a good team. I took over when they were fourth from the bottom in the Premier League. , is probably the inferior third team.
“There is a lot of money that has been raised through player sales and there are a lot of good players on the pitch. I hope for their sake the next manager will do a good job and that’s fantastic. for them.”
What should make Potter more warning is that this was a failure largely of his own making. Chelsea’s 3-4-2-1 system looks more like 3-2-4-1 with its advanced implementation of Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling at full-back, a tactic that worked in Tuesday’s Champions League win at FC Salzburg but faltered badly here.
Brighton were sharper and more determined from the first whistle, helping them beat Chelsea’s underpowered side, time and time again on the move. Solly March and Pervis Estupinan into one-on-one situations against Chelsea’s broader three-back. The system offers high risk and reward, and Chelsea were not without threat in the first half. But they were so frighteningly easy to play that Brighton almost scored every time they went through, scoring three goals in the first 45 minutes of a Premier League game – a feat they had never achieved under Potter.
– Reporter: Brighton 4-1 Chelsea | Premier League table | Upcoming furniture
Chelsea improved much in the second period as Potter switched to something close to 4-1-4-1 with Ruben Loftus-Cheek at right-back, but the damage was done.
“Responsibility to [the wing-backs] Potter said. I have to accept that and deal with it and do better. “
As good as Brighton, it feels like Chelsea shot themselves in the foot from the start. They requested Thiago Silva to cross the limit twice by the time they fell behind by just five minutes.
Silva sent the ball away cheaply and unexpectedly Kaoru Mitoma was driving towards the Chelsea box. He missed a smart pass for Leandro Trossardwho kept his cool in front of the curvaceous goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and shot into the low net with Cucurella helpless on the road.
“Potter, what’s the score Potter?” sang the excited home fans in response.
Two own goals later. First, Loftus-Cheek hung his knee and accidentally redirected March’s 14th-minute corner into his own net. Then, in just one of many examples where Brighton overloaded their opponents from wide range, Estupinan went down the left flank and down. Trevoh Chalobahon the slide, can only put the ball into his net.
“You’ll be fired in the morning,” rain poured from the stands as supporters continued to aim at Potter, who was crossing his arms on the touchline, perhaps disbelieving the way his side was leading. row. The cheers grew louder as each time Chalobah’s mistake was shown on the big screen.
However, Chelsea had their own chances even before the break. Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sánchez well saved from Conor Gallagher, before Pulisic makes a volley in the bounce. Then, Sanchez brilliantly saved Gallagher’s header from Raheem Sterling’s left wing pass.
But the risk-reward ratio is not in their favor. Potter abandoned the 3-4-2-1 formation in previous matches and was forced to do the same here. Loftus-Cheek was the driving force for their second-half improvement, but it’s clear how much Chelsea missed Reece Jameswas sidelined due to a knee injury.
Three minutes into the second half, which also started with Edouard Mendy replacing Kepa in goal for a foot problem, Loftus-Cheek pushed up and found a pass back to Gallagher, who made a good cross. Kai Havertz definitely headed past Sanchez.
Chelsea started ordering formalities but Sanchez worked sporadically. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in place of Sterling, forced the Spaniard to stop on the left with 20 minutes left. Havertz exploded in the box after a good combination from Loftus-Cheek on the right. But it was Brighton who had the last laugh – literally – when Mendy saved from replacement Julio Enciso only for Pascal Gross to force the house to recover.
Before this match, Chelsea had only conceded four goals in 810 minutes under Potter. Brighton scored four goals in one afternoon, ending with Potter, occupying the heart of the storm, warmly embraced by some of his former players as the heat of battle had passed.
It was a rare moment of joy on a dreary afternoon. Potter must quickly pass this on to history, just as Brighton did with him.
