Chelsea defeated Brighton 2-1 in a dramatic game which saw a lot of VAR involvement and a red card. Yet it also was overall a very solid performance by Pochettino's lads.
Cucurella: 9/10. Seemed to be affected by the whistles from the home crowd early on but shrugged it off and put in an excellent performance. Spotted Palmer's run and made a perfect cross to provide an assist for the opener. Solid defending overall, made a great block in the 52nd minute inside the Chelsea box.
Nkunku: 9. Came on late in the first half for the injured Mudryk and brought a lot of creativity with his flawless decision-making in the final third. Great positioning and tidy finish to score Chelsea's second goal.
Chalobah: 9. Incredible defending to prevent what looked like a certain Brighton equaliser a few minutes after the interval. Beautiful tackle on Adingra at the hour's mark. Good passing, too. No way Chelsea could sell him after a string of Rolls Royce performances like this one.
Palmer: 8. Scored an absolute golazo to break the deadlock for Chelsea. Creative but made wrong decisions sometimes too.
Gusto: 8. The Frenchman is such an excellent attacking threat. Provided a lovely assist to Nkunku and was a threat throughout his time on the pitch. Came off after picking up a knock.
Caicedo: 6.5. Very good moving the ball forward, sometimes suspect defensively though but overall a solid display in a very hostile atmosphere.
Badiashile: 4. Often failed to track runners behind him, leading to Brighton creating chances. Missed Welbeck's run for the Seagulls consolation goal. Inventive when going forward — it was Badiashile who crossed the ball for the Jackson disallowed goal.
Jackson: 4. Could have easily scored in the 15th minute after going one on one with the goalkeeper but was let down by his terrible first touch. Scored in added time to the first half but the goal was ruled out for Nico's foul in the buildup.
Picked a wrong pass in a 3v3 counter-attack inside Brighton's break shortly after the break. Overall a typical Jackson performance: worked his socks off, missed sitters, pressed like crazy, missed sitters, combined well with teammates, missed sitters. Unfortunately for him, he's a striker and is judged by goals and missed chances.
James. Well... (no mark). Came on and got sent off for violent conduct. Hardly a good look for someone who has to lead by example. Will miss three opening games of the next season as a consequence of his uncalled-for aggression.
Others: Petrovic 7; Mudryk 6.5; Gallagher, Sterling 6; Madueke 5; Thiago Silva, Ugochukwu, Casadei n/a
