Chelsea continued their impressive start under new manager Xabi Alonso with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues produced a blistering opening half-hour, racing into a 3-0 lead through Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and former Brighton striker João Pedro.
Lavia opened the scoring after just four minutes, taking advantage of confusion in the Brighton defence to register his first goal for Chelsea. Neto doubled the advantage 10 minutes later before João Pedro made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute following a devastating Chelsea counterattack.
At that stage, Chelsea appeared to be cruising toward a comfortable victory.
Brighton, however, refused to surrender.
Malick Yalcouyé pulled one back for the visitors before halftime, giving the Seagulls hope of a comeback. The pressure increased after the break when a Pascal Groß effort was deflected into the Chelsea net off João Pedro, reducing the deficit to 3-2.
With Brighton pushing for an equaliser, Chelsea needed another moment of quality — and Cole Palmer delivered.
The England international restored Chelsea’s two-goal advantage in the 74th minute, finding the bottom corner with a composed finish to make it 4-2.
Brighton created further chances and eventually scored again through Groß deep into stoppage time, but the goal came too late to prevent Chelsea from securing all three points.
The result means Alonso has now won his first two Premier League matches in charge, with Chelsea also recording a League Cup victory during their strong start to the new campaign.
There will still be defensive concerns for the Chelsea manager. Conceding three goals after building such a commanding advantage showed that the Blues remain vulnerable when opponents put them under sustained pressure.
However, Chelsea’s attacking display offered plenty of encouragement. With Palmer, João Pedro and Neto among the goals, Alonso appears to be building a team capable of creating chances and punishing opponents quickly in transition.
Chelsea have started the season with maximum points, but tougher tests are coming.
Do you think Chelsea can challenge for the Premier League title under Xabi Alonso this season?
