Chelsea beat Brighton 4-2 in a six-goal Premier League thriller

Chelsea defeated Brighton in a six-goal Premier League match in week two, with Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer all scoring for the winners.

Lavia opened the scoring when he headed Pedro Neto’s corner from the right towards goal. Bart Verbruggen failed to deal with the effort and Lavia followed up to finish.

Chelsea then doubled their lead through Neto. Morgan Rogers played a low pass from the left side of the penalty area and Neto, left unmarked, sent his shot into the bottom-left corner.

Brighton tried to respond, with Pascal Groß involved in a series of set-piece deliveries. One corner from the left passed through the entire area and went out for a goal kick, while another was punched clear by Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Chelsea extended their advantage before the interval. Jorrel Hato produced an excellent individual run before finding Joao Pedro, who struck from inside the box into the right side of the net.

The hosts had been in control for much of the opening period, with Chelsea registering four shots to Brighton’s one after half an hour. Joao Pedro also missed a clear opportunity when he was left unmarked in the area but sent his effort wide of the right post.

Brighton pulled one goal back after the restart through Malick Junior Yalcouye. Charalampos Kostoulas’ shot from inside the box was saved by Martinez, but Yalcouye followed up and his effort hit the right post before crossing the line.

At that stage, Brighton continued to press in an attempt to reduce the deficit. Diego Gomez headed over from inside the area, while another effort from inside the box was turned behind by Martinez.

Chelsea restored their three-goal advantage through Palmer. The England international carried the ball forward in an impressive individual move from midfield before shooting from outside the penalty area into the right side of the goal.

Brighton were then awarded a second goal after a cross from Groß on the right was diverted into the Chelsea goal by Joao Pedro. The incident was recorded as an own goal by the Chelsea player.

The visitors continued to threaten, and a corner from Maxim De Cuyper on the right ended with an attacking foul. Groß also delivered another set-piece from the left, but Ferdi Kadioglu’s attempt went narrowly wide of the right post.

Chelsea finished the match with four goals, although Palmer later fired over from inside the area. The shot count after an hour stood at 11 for Chelsea and eight for Brighton.

There were also several late changes. Brighton made their first substitution, while Chelsea made four changes in total, including their first, second, third and fourth substitutions. Chelsea players appealed for a penalty during the second half, but the referee waved play on.

There were bookings for Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana and Brighton captain Lewis Dunk. Romeo Lavia was also fouled in the defensive half, resulting in a free-kick for Chelsea.

Reece James delivered a Chelsea corner from the left that eventually ended with a goal kick, while another set-piece from Malo Gusto was collected by Verbruggen. Brighton’s Groß remained a regular source of danger from corners, with his deliveries repeatedly testing the Chelsea defence.

The referee added two minutes of stoppage time before bringing the match to an end. Other players listed in the match action included Levi Colwill, Moises Caicedo, Josh Acheampong and Kaoru Mitoma.