LONDON — Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea suffered a stinging 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge, a match that began with promise but unraveled spectacularly due to self-inflicted errors, culminating in Trevoh Chalobah’s red card.
The loss, Chelsea’s third in their last five Premier League games, prompted a scathing reaction from Maresca, who accused his players of “giving away presents” and delivered a brutally honest assessment of Chalobah’s costly mistake. The defeat has intensified scrutiny on Maresca’s young squad, with the Italian’s high-pressing philosophy tested by recurring disciplinary lapses and defensive fragility.
The game started brightly for Chelsea, who dominated early with 68% possession and a slick opening goal in the 24th minute. Enzo Fernández, the World Cup-winning midfielder, headed home a pinpoint cross from captain Reece James, set up by Moises Caicedo’s incisive pass.
The move epitomized Maresca’s vision: fluid transitions, overlapping full-backs, and midfielders arriving late in the box. Brighton, led by their youthful manager Fabian Hürzeler, struggled to cope with Chelsea’s intensity, their high defensive line repeatedly exposed. The Blues fired off seven shots in the first half, three on target, and looked poised to cruise to victory.
However, familiar frailties surfaced after the break. Chelsea’s defense, already depleted by injuries to Levi Colwill, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Wesley Fofana, crumbled under pressure. The turning point came in the 50th minute when Chalobah, playing center-back, received a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Brighton’s Diego Gómez.
A wayward pass from substitute Andrey Santos had sparked a counter-attack, and Chalobah, as the last man, clipped Gómez just outside the box. After a VAR review, referee Simon Hooper brandished the red, leaving Chelsea with 10 men for the second consecutive league match. The decision shifted the game’s momentum decisively.
Brighton capitalized ruthlessly. Eight minutes later, Danny Welbeck equalized, pouncing on a loose ball after goalkeeper Robert Sánchez parried João Pedro’s curling shot. The Seagulls dominated the second half, racking up 12 shots as Chelsea’s makeshift defense buckled.
The killer blow came in the 92nd minute when Maxim De Cuyper, Brighton’s £15 million summer signing, headed home a Kaoru Mitoma cross. Welbeck added a third in stoppage time, his deflected volley sealing a historic victory—Brighton’s first at Stamford Bridge since 1977.
The final whistle sparked boos from the Chelsea faithful, already frustrated by a midweek Champions League loss to Bayern Munich. “Enzo Out” banners appeared briefly in the Matthew Harding Stand, reflecting growing unrest.
Post-match, Chelsea’s billionaire owners, led by Behdad Eghbali alongside Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital representatives, stormed the dressing room for a tense 20-minute meeting. Sources describe a charged atmosphere, with Eghbali urging unity while subtly reminding the squad of the club’s £1 billion investment.
Maresca, delayed nearly an hour by the owners’ intervention, faced the press with unfiltered candor. “You cannot continue to give away presents,” he fumed, slamming his side’s penchant for red cards. “These are big mistakes against any Premier League team. We need to learn quickly.” On Chalobah’s red card, Maresca was blunt yet empathetic: “Trevoh knows it was a game-changing mistake.
It was mistimed, naive, and it cost us dearly.” The 26-year-old academy graduate, back from a loan at Crystal Palace, now faces a one-match ban, ruling him out for Chelsea’s upcoming clash with Liverpool but potentially available for their Champions League tie against Benfica.
The defeat leaves Chelsea languishing in mid-table, their title hopes fading fast. Maresca’s high-risk system, while thrilling at its best, is being undermined by a lack of discipline—evidenced by multiple red cards this season—and a thin squad stretched by injuries.
With Liverpool looming and a tricky Benfica trip on the horizon, Maresca’s immediate challenge is clear: plug the leaks in his defense and instill a steeliness to match his tactical ambition. Failure to do so could see the pressure on his tenure reach boiling point, with fans and owners alike growing restless for results.
