Ten-man Chelsea hold on to beat Brighton after Enzo Fernández double

It is not easy to understand why Mauricio Pochettino has likened himself to a university professor. Chelsea’s manager must have felt as if he was in charge of a class of unruly toddlers during a performance that began in commanding fashion and ended with Thiago Silva making heroic blocks, Levi Colwill almost giving away a penalty in the 110^th minute and a general air of chaos almost allowing Brighton to snatch an undeserved point.

If anything there were times when Chelsea were too intense as they chased only their fourth home win in the Premier League in 2023. They were up for a fight and were down to 10 men when their captain, Conor Gallagher, got himself sent off just before half-time. Pochettino loved the intensity and despaired at the naivety.

Control? Discipline? Composure? Forget about it. This was Chelsea playing on vibes, on emotion, and they needed a combination of togetherness and good fortune to see off Brighton’s fightback in the second half. Brighton, who started slowly before improving, fumed at the VAR intervention that allowed Enzo Fernández to score the decisive goal from the spot.

Pochettino had spoken about Chelsea needing to “defend as a collective”. His anger was plain after last weekend’s collapse at Newcastle and he looked for a reaction by making four changes. Cole Palmer was a notable omission, Mykhailo Mudryk preferred to the playmaker, while it would be interesting to see how Chelsea would fare with their full-backs all missing. Indeed, with Axel Disasi deputising for Reece James and Malo Gusto on the right, it was almost as if Tony Pulis had taken over from Pochettino for the afternoon.

There would be no question about Chelsea’s commitment. Mudryk set the tone by pressing high and conceding a free-kick inside the opening minute. Brighton, ravaged by injuries and weary after winning away at AEK Athens last Thursday, found it difficult to compete at first. They threatened in the second minute, Simon Adingra almost capitalising on indecision between Benoît Badiashile and Robert Sánchez, but a quick look at Roberto De Zerbi’s body language suggested that the Italian was not convinced his team were at the races.

Chelsea soon began to play through midfield. Moisés Caicedo ignored the boos from the away end and offered control with his clever passing. Fernández was an elusive opponent for Carlos Baleba and Billy Gilmour. Raheem Sterling tested Brighton on the right.

Chelsea took a deserved lead when Gallagher delivered a corner from the right. Badiashile made a nuisance of himself at the far post and hooked the ball into the six-yard box. Brighton, vulnerable without the suspended Lewis Dunk at the back, were all over the place. Nobody in green and black tried to stop Fernández from heading home from close range.

De Zerbi’s misgivings seemed justified. Nicolas Jackson almost punished a mistake from Jan Paul van Hecke moments later and Brighton conceded from another corner in the 21^st minute. This time it was Jackson heading back across goal and Colwill forcing the ball over the line for his first goal for the club.

Chelsea were cruising, only for the mood to change just before half-time. Brighton advanced down the left, and Adam Lallana found Facundo Buonanotte. One on one with Colwill, the winger cut inside from the right and curled a beautiful shot past Sánchez with his left foot.

Chelsea could have been clear – Mudryk had gone close to making it 3-0 – but now their inexperience took over. They have the most bookings in the league and were down to 10 men when Gallagher, who was fortunate only to receive a yellow for a foul on Buonanotte, lost Gilmour and received his second booking for catching the former Chelsea midfielder down from behind.

Where was the leadership? Pochettino, who is conscious of his young side’s impetuous nature, needed cool heads. For the second week running, though, what he got was inexplicable immaturity from the player wearing the captain’s armband. It is worth remembering that James, the club captain, was unavailable after picking up two silly bookings against Newcastle.

Pochettino has a problem. The 39-year-old Silva had the armband in the second half but it was not long before Caicedo was booked for kicking the ball away. Chelsea were edgy. Caicedo twice went close to being booked and De Zerbi responded with a quadruple substitution, Kaoru Mitoma, João Pedro, Pascal Gross and James Milner coming on.

Brighton had done enough to stretch the 10 men. They created little and were caught out when Chelsea broke from a corner. Jackson released Mudryk with a smart pass and the Ukrainian went down after being challenged by Milner.

It was time for a long VAR check. Milner gave Mudryk a little shove and countless replays suggested a tangle of legs. The contact, though slight, was enough for Craig Pawson to point to the spot. Fernández, who had missed his previous penalty, stepped up and sent Jason Steele the wrong way with his spot-kick.

Chelsea fell back as they protected their lead. Brighton pushed and Sánchez made a stunning stop from Gross. There were 10 minutes of added time and Brighton pulled a goal back when Pedro met Milner’s corner with a glancing header.

Nerves took over. Silva made a vital challenge and Sánchez saved well from Pedro. Then Colwill stuck out an arm as he tried to block a cross. Pawson pointed to the spot and the Brighton bench celebrated, only for replays to show that the ball had hit Colwill in the face. Chelsea escaped. Sheer desire got them over the line. Naturally there was a fight after full-time.