Chelsea 3 Brighton 2
Every week seems to be a new start to the Pochettino era at Chelsea. This time they welcomed Brighton to Stamford Bridge, a ground the visitors had a terrible record at until victory last season against a misfiring Frank Lampard side.
The Seagulls started positively, passing the ball around like you would expect from a Roberto de Zerbi side. However, when they failed to deal with the host’s first corner of the game, Badiashile lifted it back into the box for Enzo Fernandez to head home.
It was the £105m signing’s first Premier League goal for the club. They would have expected more from the attacking midfielder but up until this point, he had looked like he couldn’t score in a brothel with a handful of fifties.
Brighton were struggling with the aerial threat at corners and as Jackson headed the ball across goal at the back post, Colwill rose to head it in. It seemed to be cleared off the line but the referee’s watch was buzzing to let him know it had crossed the line.
Credit: @ChelseaFC
Everything was starting to look rosy at Stamford Bridge and the home fans were starting to believe that this was going to be an easy day at the office. Suddenly, Buonanotte picked the ball up, cut inside and bent the ball into the far corner.
It silenced the home crowd and when de Zerbi’s side had been looking like they were going to sink without a trace, they had managed to find a way back into the game. This would now prove to be a test of the mental strength of this Chelsea team.
The Blues almost got a third as the ball was crossed in and seemed to come off Igor Julio, forcing a world-class save from Steele in the Brighton goal at full-stretch. Pochettino’s side continued knocking on the door but Brighton managed to keep them out.
Having received a yellow card earlier in the game, Gallagher put a lunging challenge in and got nowhere near the ball. The referee had no choice to but to show the Chelsea captain a second yellow card and give him his marching orders.
As the second half started, Moises Caicedo went straight through the back of Joao Pedro. Having already been booked, the referee awarded a free kick but showed no card. This is where the inconsistencies of the game come into play as any other player would have seen yellow.
Referees should be acting on the face value of the challenge and not factoring in who the player is and whether he has already been booked. From a Brighton perspective, had Chelsea gone down to nine men then this game was definitely theirs for the taking.
Credit: @ChelseaFC
Pochettino’s side then countered at pace from a Brighton corner, with Sterling feeding it into the path of Mudryk. There was a coming together between the Ukrainian and Milner as Steele slid out to collect the ball.
Craig Pawson waved away appeals for a penalty which seemed the right decision. VAR then reviewed it and sent the referee to the monitor. After watching numerous replays from different angles, the referee then saw fit to give the spot kick.
The most worrying thing about this reversing of his decision is that if he is awarding a penalty for the challenge, it is evident that these officials do not understand the laws of the game. There was nothing about Milner’s challenge that should have warranted it. Certainly no clear and obvious error for VAR to get involved in the first place.
Fernandez stepped up and slotted the ball past Steele to give Chelsea a two-goal lead once again. It was the breathing space they needed with a defence looking so nervous at times. As the 90 minute mark was reached, the fourth official lifted their board to reveal ten additional minutes.
As The Seagulls whipped a corner into the box, Joao Pedro rose to flick the ball into the goal with Sanchez rooted to the spot. With eight minutes of added time remaining, Brighton were well and truly back in this game.
Adingra picked the ball up on the right and looked to cross into the box. It struck Colwill and the visitors demanded a penalty and Pawson immediately pointed to the spot. The replay showed it actually hit the defender in the face and not the hand.
VAR reviewed the incident and sent him to the monitor once again. While Pawson rightly reversed his decision, more incredibly he restarted the game with a drop ball when it should have been a corner to the visitors.
Chelsea held on to get the win but this is another game where a sour taste has been left in the mouth due to the failings of the on-field officials and then impact VAR has had on a game. Brighton can rightly feel hard done by and the technology is eating away at the game like a debilitating disease.
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