Potter hits the wall in return to Brighton
LONDON – Chelsea manager Graham Potter had said he knows very well the quality that Brighton & Hove Albion have, but little did he expect that he would be thoroughly beaten 4-1 by his former team in the Premier League on Saturday.
In bizarre scenes at the Amex Stadium, it was not Brighton’s attacking prowess that won the game, but the Blues’ mistakes after they scored two own goals.
It did not take long for Chelsea to concede. As early as the fifth minute, Leandro Trossard got into a one-on-one situation with Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga before rounding the Spaniard and slotting the ball into the net, as two defenders on the line failed to clear the danger.
The winger has now scored all five of Brighton’s goals in the Premier League under new boss Roberto de Zerbi – including his hat-trick in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool. According to Opta statistics, it is the first time a player has netted a team’s first five goals under a new manager.
In the 15th minute, it was 2-0 to Brighton in what was a horror start for Potter and his men, thanks to an own goal from Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The Chelsea midfielder attempted to clear the ball away from a corner kick but instead miskicked it into the roof of his own net.
He was not the only Blues player to make such a blunder as, just minutes before the break, Trevoh Chalobah also hit the back of his own net after attempting to intercept a Brighton pass into the Chelsea box.
It was the first time that the Blues have scored two own goals in a Premier League game.
Potter’s men improved after the interval, as Kai Havertz headed in a perfect cross from Conor Gallagher in the 48th minute with Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez helpless.
But it was too little, too late. Pascal Gross made it 4-1 to Brighton in stoppage time after he hit the ball into the net from a rebound following a Julio Enciso shot.
The defeat also meant that Potter has now suffered his first loss as Chelsea manager, in his 10th game in charge in all competitions.
“The scoreline and the defeat is a painful one. We didn’t really recover,” he said on the BBC.
“Once the crowd were so engaged, it was a difficult one for us. Brighton played a good game, especially in the first half.
“You can always look at goals and think you can do better. We have to take responsibility a bit in the first half. We have had a lot of football but that’s no excuse. We couldn’t quite get to that level. We didn’t take our opportunities in attack and they did.
“We had some opportunities to attack them, too, but unfortunately we missed the pass or didn’t execute. When you lose, you can always do better.”
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur fought back to win 3-2 at Bournemouth, which came after losses to Newcastle United (2-1) and Manchester United (2-0).
A cross into the box from Marcus Tavernier in the 23rd minute found Kieffer Moore, who found the bottom right corner of the Spurs net. The Bournemouth striker scored his second in the 50th minute after heading in off the crossbar following a cross from Adam Smith.
But Spurs started their fightback seven minutes later via a goal from Ryan Sessegnon, before Ben Davies equalised with a stunning header in the 73rd minute from a Son Heung-min cross.
Rodrigo Bentancur then dramatically clinched all three points for Tottenham in stoppage time after firing a rebound into the roof of the net.
Antonio Conte’s men are third in the Premier League table on 26 points, two ahead of Newcastle, who beat Aston Villa 4-0 at home in the chase to be in the top four.
Manchester City lead the standings on 29 points after their 1-0 win at Leicester City. Pep Guardiola’s men are one point ahead of Arsenal, who host Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
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