Brighton moved into what might turn out to be a Champions League place on Tuesday, as the Seagulls put three past Chelsea and added to the nightmare that has been Liam Rosenior’s time in charge.
WATCH — Brighton v Chelsea full match replay
There were precious few signs of Chelsea breaking out of their ongoing slump, as they fell behind in under three minutes and Brighton never looked back. Ferdi Kadioglu opened the scoring in the 3rd minute and, though the Seagulls didn’t score their second goal until the 56th, it was nearly as long before Chelsea attempted their first shot in the game — in the 41st. Jack Hinshelwood slotted home goal no. 2 and Danny Welbeck, at the tender age of 35, added to his career best tally with no. 13 on the season in stoppage time.
MORE — Liam Rosenior sacked after four months in charge of Chelsea
Brighton (50 points) are up to 6th in the Premier League table, hoping that Aston Villa (currently 4th) will finish in the top-five and win the Europa League this season which would mean that 6th place qualifies for the Champions League. Sure, Chelsea will be wishing the same, but…
Chelsea’s historic goal drought goes on
Chelsea have not scored a PL goal in 476 minutes (five games, plus 26 minutes), dating back to their 4-1 victory over Aston Villa on March 4. Their current slide is the first time the club has lost five straight league games without scoring a goal since 1912 (seven years after Chelsea Football Club was founded). If all results go agains them, the Blues (7th - 48 points) could fall as far as 11th in the table by the time matchweek 34 ends on Monday.
After winning their first four Premier League games after Rosenior was appointed to replace Enzo Maresca in January, Chelsea have won just one of their last nine and scored just eight goals during that period (second-fewest in the PL). At the same, the Blues have conceded 17 goals (third-most).
What’s next?
- Newcastle vs Chelsea — Saturday, 10 am ET
- Chelsea vs Leeds — Sunday, 10 am ET (FA Cup semifinal)
- Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest — Monday, May 4, 10 am ET (next PL fixture)
Brighton vs Chelsea live updates - by Andy Edwards
Brighton vs Chelsea final score: 3-0
Goalscorers: Ferdi Kadioglu (3'), Jack Hinshelwood (56'), Danny Welbeck (90'+1)
GOAL! Brighton 3-0 Chelsea: Welbeck piles on the misery (90'+1)
GOAL! Brighton 2-0 Chelsea: Hinshelwood sweeps it in after no penalty at other end (56')
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Chelsea: Kadioglu slots home through traffic (3')
Brighton starting XI
Verbruggen - Wieffer, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Kadioglu - Baleba, Hinshelwood, Gross - Minteh, Mitoma, Rutter
Chelsea starting XI
Sanchez - Fofana, Chalobah, Hato - Gusto, Caicedo, Lavia, Cucurella - Fernandez, Neto, Delap
How to watch Brighton vs Chelsea live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday (April 21)
Venue: Amex Stadium — Falmer, East Sussex
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch on USA
Fabian Hurzeler has masterminded a wonderful comeback in recent weeks with Brighton losing just once in their last seven games. They drew 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, grabbing a last-gasp equalizer through Georginio Rutter to keep their European hopes on track.
Chelsea are in freefall, with Liam Rosenior’s side losing four in a row in the Premier League without scoring a goal. They lost 1-0 at home to Manchester United on Saturday as boos rang out from the Chelsea supporters. All is not well and they have now fallen well behind Liverpool in the race for Champions League qualification, and the FA Cup semifinal against Leeds on Sunday is huge for Rosenior’s future.
Brighton team news, focus
Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster and James Milner remain out, while Diego Gomez has a knock. Captain and key center back Lewis Dunk is back from suspension. Brighton have had a more settled team in recent weeks but Hurzeler has plenty of options to mix things up and keep it fresh as the likes of Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma, Matt O’Riley and Maxim De Cuyper could come in to start.
Chelsea team news, focus
Levi Colwill, Estevao, Filip Jorgensen and Jamie Gittens remain out, while Reece James, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro are injury doubts. Rosenior needs to get some creativity and confidence in the team and it seems like Alejandro Garnacho will start and maybe Marc Guiu will get some minutes if Joao Pedro isn’t fit to feature against his former club?
Brighton vs Chelsea prediction
This is pointing towards a home win for Brighton, and a comfortable one at that. Chelsea are devoid of confidence and the Seagulls will surge to victory in the second half. Brighton 3-1 Chelsea.
