Mauricio Pochettino revealed his admiration for his Chelsea players after watching them cling on with 10 men to earn a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Brighton at the Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
With Chelsea leading 2-1, captain Conor Gallagher was sent off late in the first half to hand the Mauricio Pochettino an uphill battle to hold off a fightback from Roberto De Zerbi’s side.
Chelsea seemed destined for a comfortable halftime with a two-goal lead, as Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill netted their maiden Premier League goals just three minutes apart. However, Brighton narrowed the gap with a goal from Facundo Buonanotte before Gallagher received his second yellow card, altering the dynamics of the match.
The visitors’ comeback was cut short in the middle of the second half when Mykhailo Mudryk, stepping in for the injured Cole Palmer, sprinted towards goal and earned a penalty after being fouled by James Milner. Following a pitchside review, Fernandez calmly slotted home his second goal from 12 yards.
Brighton fought valiantly against a resolute Chelsea defense, and substitute Joao Pedro injected new life into the contest with a headed goal at the beginning of 10 minutes of stoppage time to put the score at 3-2.
In the dying moments, referee Craig Pawson was summoned to the pitchside once more to assess a potential handball by Colwill inside the box. However, this time, the decision was no penalty, allowing Chelsea to secure the victory and erase the memories of last weekend’s 4-1 defeat to Newcastle.
“It wasn’t a sending off,” said Pochettino. “That is my opinion. Maybe I am wrong. This type of period where you are building something, it always happens.
“We were a little bit more aggressive after Newcastle where we didn’t show our real face.
“We wanted to play well, to be aggressive and show we care. I think the team was really good, I feel proud. After Newcastle it was tough, and a team like Brighton is always difficult to play.
“I am so proud of the players and the character that they showed. I told them at half-time, ‘it’s 2-1 to us, it’s a great opportunity for us – now we need to show that we are a team’.”
The win was the first win in six attempts that Chelsea have managed against Brighton in the league. Also, with this victory, Chelsea move back to 10th position on the log with 19 points in their 14 games.
