Chelsea hosted Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, in a Premier League game that rained seven goals, with the Blues emerging victorious 4-3 and ending a four-game losing streak in all competitions against the Seagulls.
It was a landmark afternoon for Xabi Alonso. In his debut Premier League home fixture since taking over the reins at the Bridge, the Spaniard extended his league record to two wins from two, following a 3-2 victory away at Fulham last week, and three wins from three in all competitions including the League Cup.
Chelsea took just 31 seconds to score against Fulham and they made another quick-fire start to move in front against Brighton.
The opener came in the fourth minute and it was born out of chaos. Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and defender Mats Wieffer made a complete hash of clearing a corner off the line, colliding and missing the ball entirely, and it fell nicely for Romeo Lavia to poke home from close-range. It was Lavia's first Chelsea goal since signing from Southampton in 2023, a moment of redemption for a player whose first two years at the club have been ravaged by injury.
Xabi Alonso had selected Pedro Neto instead of Reece James on the right flank, a bold call that shifted Malo Gusto to wing-back, and the Portugal winger repaid that faith in the 14th minute.
Morgan Rogers, Chelsea's record signing who had scored on debut at Craven Cottage, burst past young defender Luka Vuskovic into the Brighton penalty area with blistering pace and cut his pass back for Neto to guide a deft finish past Verbruggen from close-range for his first league goal since December.
The narrative of the afternoon was not just about goals. Emiliano Martinez made his Chelsea debut after completing his £7.5 million move from Aston Villa just hours earlier. The 33-year-old World Cup winner was signed to replace the error-prone Robert Sanchez after his latest dismal display in Monday's 3-2 win at Fulham, a game in which Sanchez conceded directly from a corner.
Martinez made his first save shortly after that second goal, repelling Malick Yalcouye's low strike with a strong right hand, to raucous cheers from Chelsea fans delighted to no longer have to endure the hapless Sanchez. It was a symbolic moment, the Stamford Bridge faithful chanting the Argentine's name after months of groaning at errors.
Joao Pedro added the third, getting on the scoresheet against his former club in the 32nd minute. Jorrel Hato, the 18-year-old left-back who has become undroppable under Alonso, picked out Pedro with a threaded pass and he finished clinically from six yards before cheekily celebrating with a thumbs-down gesture in front of the Brighton fans who had been jeering him relentlessly since kick-off.
At 3-0, Chelsea looked to be cruising to a first league clean sheet since January, but that hope was ruined in the 35th minute when Yalcouye's fierce volley whistled in off the post after Martinez's initial save had rebounded kindly to the midfielder. It was a stunning strike that gave Brighton hope going into half-time at 3-1.
Brighton closed the gap even further in the 63rd minute as Chelsea started to wobble defensively, a familiar frailty from last season resurfacing. Pascal Gross's shot from an acute angle took a hefty deflection off Joao Pedro and looped agonisingly over the wrong-footed Martinez, who could only watch as it dropped into the far corner.
Stamford Bridge was nervous, memories of collapses against Brighton still fresh, but Cole Palmer eased Alonso's nerves in the 74th minute with a moment of pure quality.
Picking up the ball on the edge of the area, Palmer shifted it onto his left foot and curled a fine finish into the bottom corner, his second goal in as many games.
Gross struck again with a looping header in stoppage time after a pinpoint cross from Kaoru Mitoma, but Chelsea had done just enough to win the goal-fest, holding on for a 4-3 victory that ends a miserable run against the Seagulls and keeps Alonso's perfect start intact.
