Brighton & Hove Albion fell to Chelsea by a scoreline that the event timeline suggests ran firmly in the visitors' favour, with Chelsea scoring three times across the ninety minutes and Brighton unable to find a reply.
Chelsea took the lead inside three minutes through Ferdi Kadıoğlu, a fast start that put Brighton on the back foot from the off. Wesley Fofana doubled the advantage just before half-time, and the interval brought no respite for the hosts. Alejandro Garnacho added a third within a minute of the restart, turning what had been a difficult evening into an uncomfortable one.
Brighton made substitutions in search of a response. Jack Hinshelwood came on at 56 minutes, Yankuba Minteh two minutes later, and further changes followed with Maxim De Cuyper, Yasin Ayari, Matt O'Riley and Danny Welbeck all introduced. Welbeck, however, was shown a red card at 83 minutes, compounding Brighton's difficulties in the closing stages.
Chelsea managed their lead efficiently. Marc Guiu and Dário Essugo were brought on as the game entered its final quarter, tightening Chelsea's grip on proceedings. Josh Acheampong completed the scoring in stoppage time to confirm a four-goal victory.
Brighton offered little going forward and were tactically outmanoeuvred throughout. Chelsea's early goal shaped the entire contest, and the hosts never looked capable of recovering from it.
Recap generated from the event timeline. Editorial team review by request. How we use AI.
