Chelsea take win in six goal thriller against Brighton

Cole Palmer restored a two-goal lead with a smart first-time finish in the 41st minute, making him the first player of the Premier League era to score four goals in the first half of a game.

Sat, 28 Sep, 2024 - 17:14

Gerry Cox, Stamford Bridge

Premier League: Chelsea 4 (Palmer 21, pen 28, 30, 41) Brighton 2 (Georginio 7, Baleba 34)

WHERE DO YOU START?

One of the craziest, most entertaining and defensively reckless game of this or any other season, with records broken and hardly time to catch your breath. Six goals scored before half-time, it could and should have been more and the biggest surprise was that the second half was goalless.

If anyone needed an antidote to Arsenal's 'anti-football' masterclass in the dark arts of defensive play, this was it. A pulsating, breathtaking game played at full throttle from start to finish, with Chelsea coming out on top and going third in the table thanks to Cole Palmer, who hit a post, had a goal disallowed and then scored four before half-time to make it 4-2 by the break, although it could have been more. Amazingly given it was such an open game, that remained the score at full-time.

Georginio Rutter gave Brighton an early lead after mistakes by three of their old boys in the Chelsea defence, Cole equalised thanks to a howler from Adam Webster, scored two more including a penalty in quick succession before another Robert Sanchez shocker allowed Carlos Baleba to make it 3-2, and then Palmer made it 4-2 before the break.

There were plenty of other chances, goal-line clearances, spectacular saves and flare-ups to keep the Stamford Bridge crowd thoroughly entertained.

Yet it could have been so different, if Fabian Hurzler had done what he had contemplated earlier in the week and gone with a low block instead of playing the high defensive line Brighton usually employ. Perhaps through stubbornness or naivete, the young German coach went with the latter and the result was disastrous. Webster and Lewis Dunk are hardly the speediest of centre-backs, and they were ripped apart by Palmer, Noni Madueke, Nicholas Jackson and Jadon Sacho, who also had a goal disallowed for offside.

Both goalkeepers made costly mistakes and their defenders were also way short of the standards set by Arsenal in their draw at Manchester City last week.

Sanchez ran into a crowd when a poor clearance by Levi Colwill rebounded high above the penalty spot, allowing Georginio to put a weak header over an unguarded goalline in the seventh minute.

Webster then underhit a backpass to allow Jackson in, and the forward passed for Palmer to equalise. Palmer's second came from the penalty spot after Sancho was upended, and his third was the best of the lot, a spectacular free-kick into the top corner of goal from 25 yards. 0-1 had become 3-1 to Chelsea in the space of nine minutes, but Brighton hit back when Carlos Baleba intercepted a poor pass from Sanchez to smash the ball past Chelsea's former Brighton keeper.

But Palmer restored a two-goal lead with a smart first-time finish in the 41st minute, making him the first player of the Premier League era to score four goals in the first half of a game.

Shortly after the break, he should have joined the small band of players to hit five in a game when he again went one to one with Bart Verbruggen, but put his right-footed shot wide of the post. The young man is fallable after all.

But his record since leaving Manchester City for Chelsea last August is second to none, with 43 goal involvements – goals and assists. Erling Haaland is the next best with 39, although with ten league goals, he is ahead of second-placed Palmer, who has six.

But with Lee Carsley set to announce his latest England squad on Thursday, Palmer's timing could not have been better, and once again he is leading Chelesa's charge up the table to third, just a point behind City.

CHELSEA (4-2-1-3): Sanchez 5; Gusto 6, Fofana 6, Colwill 5, Cucurella 6 (Veiga 71); Caiceido 6, Fernandez 7 (Lavia 79); Palmer 9; Madueke 7 (Neto 63), Jackson 6 (Nkunku 79), Sancho 8 (Mudryk 71)

BRIGHTON (4-3-3): Verbruggen 6; Kadioglu 5 (Enciso 71) Webster 4 (Igor 57), Dunk 4, Estupian 5; Baleba 6, Wieffer 6 (Ayari 57) Hinshelwood 5: Georginio 6 (Minteh 71),Welbeck 6 (Ferguson 81) Mitoma 6

Referee:Peter Bankes 8/10