Brighton 1-3 Chelsea Barney Ronay has filed from the Amex Stadium, so I’ll leave you with his report. Goodnight!
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Full time: Brighton 1-3 Chelsea
Peep peep! A solid start for Chelsea, even if the scoreline flatters them. Timo Werner looked sharp - he’s a velocista if ever I’ve seen one - and won the penalty that led to the opening goal from Jorginho. Leandro Trossard’s second-half equaliser, which Kepa might have saved, was followed almost instantly by a screamer from Reece James. After Lewis Dunk missed a sitter, Kurt Zouma’s deflected volley settled the match. Brighton deserved more, but who said life was fair.
90+2 min In other news.
90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min Kante’s chipped cross is cleared inside the six-yard box by Dunk, who takes a hit from Mount in the process.
89 min The match is petering out. Brighton were the better team for 66 minutes but the third goal broke them.
88 min “It seems a good season to be a James,” says Ian Copestake. “Not that I am bitter but I seem to recall a season that was a calamity for one so-named.”
87 min Azpilicueta has gone to right-back with James moving into midfield.
85 min “Something I feel I’ve noticed in Chelsea games is that the team will often end up passing the ball all the way back to the defenders, and from there to Kepa, who ends up spanking it forwards,” says Ed Wall. “This seems to happen frequently, and not just from normal buildup but with the team in decent positions high up the pitch. The players’ body shapes when receiving the ball even seem to be angling that way - as though going backwards is the first thought. They seem very risk averse. Do you think this is a sign of something of a lack of confidence, or is it a lack of coaching? It always seems to be inviting a certain amount of pressure. Reece James, for example (screamer aside) seems to be a prime culprit, which is bizarre when his crossing is so excellent.”
I can’t say I’d noticed that but it’s an interesting point, especially about the body shape. I’ll keep an eye out when I watch the match again tomorrow morning.
84 min There’s a break in play while Jorginho receives treatment. Cesar Azpilicueta is going to replace him, though it only looks like a precaution.
81 min Lamptey is booked for fouling Barkley.
80 min Connolly’s long-range shot is comfortably held by Kepa.
80 min And now a change for Chelsea: Callum Hudson-Odoi replaces Kai Havertz, who made a subdued debut.
79 min A double change for Brighton: Pascal Gross and Ali Jahanbakhsh replace Alzate and the limping White.
77 min A deft touch from Havertz releases Kante and starts a Chelsea break. Barkley takes over, running 40 yards before slipping in Werner on the right side of the area. His shot is well blocked by the sliding White.
76 min March beats Havertz too easily this time and stands up a deep cross that is headed away by Alonso.
74 min Havertz diligently tracks March all the way back into his own area to make an important tackle.
74 min “Bournemouth were also a good side with a good coach and went down,” says Ian Copestake. “A common denominator is these are teams who buy players from Liverpool.”
Erm, what about Barcel- oh.
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73 min For the first time in the game, Chelsea are comfortable. In fact they have a bit of a strut on.
72 min “One thing I would say about that Trossard goal Rob, and this is not to defend Kepa particularly, but that new Nike ball is really difficult,” says Martin Gamage. “My 15 yo son has played two games with it and it made him look like a chump both times. It can spit at the keeper when it bounces or it can fly unpredictably. He conceded one exactly like Kepa which seemed to ‘die’ in flight and slide under his gloves. Kepa won’t be the last to look stupid using it.”
That’s interesting and would explain it. It’s quite unusual to see a keeper dive over the ball like that.
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71 min Trossard hits a dangerous cross towards Maupay that is very well defended by Christensen.
68 min “I saw a lot of people slotting Brighton for relegation in previews,” says Brad Wilson. “I didn’t think that sounded right, and on today’s evidence they look like a solid mid-table team. If Dunk had somehow not missed ...”
Yeah they’re a good, likeable side, very well coached. They need more penetration but I’d be pretty surprised if they went down.
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GOAL! Brighton 1-3 Chelsea (Zouma 66)
And now Chelsea lead by two! James’s outswinging corner was volleyed optimistically towards goal by Zouma, 15 yards out, and the ball took a big deflection off Webster to wrongfoot Mat Ryan.
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66 min James wins a corner off March. This is Chelsea’s best spell of the match.
64 min Havertz finds the overlapping James, who crosses low towards Werner at the near post. His imaginative flick behind the standing leg is blocked.
63 min We haven’t seen Trossard’s goal again. It did dip awkwardly in front of Kepa, but it was still a surprise when it ended up in the net.
61 min A Chelsea substitution: Ross Barkley replaces the disappointing Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
59 min: What a chance for Dunk! I don’t know how he has missed that. He was still forward from a free-kick when Trossard curled over a superb cross from the right. Dunk was unmarked at the far post, six yards out, but he tried to be too precise and headed wide.
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58 min It’s very harsh on Brighton but that really was a magnificent goal.
Reece James restores Chelsea’s lead with a storming goal! Jorginho played a square pass to him, 30 yards from goal. James’s first touch into space was excellent: it moved the ball away from Alzate and gave him the room to run on and spank a spectacular drive into the top corner.
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GOAL! Brighton 1-2 Chelsea (James 56)
Pick that out!
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The goal came after a very patient build-up. Eventually Lamptey pushed the ball back to Trossard, who swished a left-footed drive from 22 yards that sneaked into the bottom corner at the far post. That looked like an error from Kepa, who seemed to dive over the ball, though I’d like to see it again.
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GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Chelsea (Trossard 55)
A deserved equaliser for Brighton!
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53 min Havertz flicks a simple pass towards Zouma. Throw-in to Brighton. That sums up his night.
52 min It’s all Brighton at the moment. Chelsea’s attacking-midfield trio of Mount, Loftus-Cheek and Havertz have done nothing so far.
49 min: A fantastic run from Lamptey almost brings an equaliser! He charged infield from the right, zig-zagged between Alonso and Mount at the corner of the area and smashed a shot that deflected behind off Zouma. Having beaten the two men on the edge of the area he should probably have picked out the unmarked Connolly, but you can understand the appeal of trying to score against his old club. He is such an exciting player.
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48 min This is a really good start from Brighton. Alzate slides a nice pass into the area for Connolly, who takes it in his stride and hits a shot that is well blocked by James.
47 min March swaggers down the left and hits a very sharp cross to the near post. Connolly gets away from Christensen - too easily, truth be telt - but the cross is so fast that he can’t sort his body out in time. It hits his chest and goes behind.
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46 min Peep peep!
Okay, I’ll make an exception for this email
“Just wait until some boffin comes up with an Expected Net Spend metric,” says Matt Dony. “‘Club Y only bought a reserve right winger, but their xNS was considerably higher because of their charismatic coach and attractive training facilities.’ I can almost see the spreadsheets now.”
Almost? I reckon you can actually see the spreadsheets. I put it to you, Mr Dony, that YOU ARE THE BOFFIN.
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Net spend (the end) “Has Mr Radcliffe failed to notice that Chelsea have spent nothing the last two transfer windows, have sold their (arguably) best player in Hazard, plus Morata, and might have a few quid rattling around the piggybank?” asks Julian Menz.
And with that, no mas. We’ll just end up calling each other bad words.
Half-time reading
Half-time chit-chat
“Hasn’t Mary Waltz seen the much-publicised net spend table doing the rounds?” says Jonathan Radcliffe. “I think Liverpool’s was £23m over the last four seasons. Think Klopp was spot on if that’s anywhere near accurate.”
How did we even live before net spend tables?
Half time: Brighton 0-1 Chelsea
Peep peep! Chelsea lead through Jorginho’s penalty, won by the impressive Timo Werner after a mistake from Steven Alzate. It’s been a pretty even game between two good passing sides, but Werner has looked by far the most penetrative player on the pitch.
45+2 min: Good effort from Werner! He has looked so sharp tonight. He runs past Dunk on the left side of the area, shapes to cross and then drives a surprise shot towards the near post from a very tight angle. Ryan dives to his right to push it behind.
45+1 min Four minutes of added time. Connolly has gone up front, with Trossard dropping back into midfield.
45 min Poor Adam Lallana is going off. He doesn’t look in much pain, at least not physically, which suggests he has tweaked something. Aaron Connolly replaces him.
44 min Lallana is down, which is a worrying sign given his problems in recent years.
42 min Werner feeds the ball into Loftus-Cheek near the halfway line and sets off in support. Suddenly Chelsea have a two-on-one, but Loftus-Cheek’s attempted pass through to Werner is crucially blocked by the well positioned White. Werner really is lightning fast.
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42 min Newsigningswatch: Werner dangerous, Lallana bright, Havertz anonymous.
39 min “Maupay seems to be settled at Brighton,” says Peter Oh, “but if he wants even mo’ pay he might consider a move to Chelsea.”
Ho-honk!
38 min Apart from giving away that eminently avoidable penalty, Brighton have probably been the better team.
37 min “I admire Klopp but I think he stepped in it with his gripe about Chelsea spending,” says Mary Waltz. “The big six have more cash to splash then quite a few clubs.”
I’m quite enjoying the nascent needle between the clubs, especially as they play each other this weekend.
36 min Lallana breaks forward and flicks a nice pass through to Maupay, whose first touch is just too soft and allows a couple of Chelsea defenders to crowd him out. Had he pushed it into the space he would have had a shot at goal.
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35 min: Good effort from Alzate! That would have made up for his mistake. He moved smoothly past two Chelsea players in midfield and rifled a right-footed drive from distance that was pushed away by the diving Kepa. The rebound came to March, whose follow-up was blocked by James.
33 min The impressive Lamptey nutmegs Alonso, forcing Jorginho to cover and concede a corner. March drives it deep, Kepa fresh-airs his punch but gets away with it when the ball clears White.
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32 min Maupay is back on, though he’s moving a little gingerly.
30 min Zouma accidentally treads on the back of Maupay’s foot, and there’s a break in play while Maupay is treated. That looked pretty painful.
30 min Werner has looked much livelier than Havertz, which is probably a reflection of how long they have been at the club. Havertz has only been training for a week or so whereas Werner had a full pre-season, such as it was.
28 min We’ve just seen a replay of the penalty incident. There wasn’t much contact between Ryan and Werner, but probably enough for a penalty. I do feel a bit sorry for keepers in that situation, though, because Werner could have avoided contact if necessary.
27 min “4231?” says Peter Oh. “Is that Chelsea’s formation, or what they spent this summer, in millions of pounds?”
26 min: Chance for Maupay! The dynamic wing-back Lamptey put over a delicious first-time cross from the right. It cleared Zouma and reached Maupay, who mistimed his attempted header from six yards. The ball hit his shoulder and looped into the loving embrace of Kepa. In Maupay’s defence, it was slightly behind him.
25 min Lallana finds Alzate in space on the edge of the area. He takes a touch and hits a firm shot that is blocked. Chelsea break dangerously through Werner, whose low shot from the right side of the box hits Dunk. Werner didn’t really get hold of it.
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24 min John Beck’s Cambridge never gave away penalties like that.
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It was a typical Jorginho penalty. He waited for Ryan to dive to his left and slid the ball the other way.
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GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Chelsea (Jorginho 23 pen)
Jorginho scores!
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22 min Alzate played a loose square pass that was intercepted by Jorginho, 30 yards from goal. He quickly moved it forward to Werner, who went round Ryan and was fouled.
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PENALTY TO CHELSEA! Werner has been brought down by Ryan.
20 min A beautiful bit of interplay between Alzate, March and Trossard, who surges into the area and hits a speculative low cross that is cleared by Mount.
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19 min Mount’s inswinging cross is flicked on by Werner towards Havertz. Webster gets in front of him to intercept and the ball loops through to the keeper Ryan.
15 min Maupay wins a corner down the right for Brighton. March’s deep corner is headed away as far as Bissouma on the edge of the area. He swishes it back across to the unmarked Trossard on the other side of the area, but his first-time cross is straight at Kante.
13 min Timo Werner looks sharp. Kai Havertz hasn’t seen much of the ball so far.
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10 min Not much is happening. Both teams are passing the ball nicely but harmlessly. In other news, Jude Bellingham has scored on his Borussia Dortmund debut.
30 | HEY JUDE!!!
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) September 14, 2020
ON HIS DEBUT!!!#MSVBVB 0-2 pic.twitter.com/GXAKDWayWO
6 min Brighton have started well. They have some really nice footballers in their team; with a greater cutting edge they could finish in the top half.
5 min Webster swans forward from defence and drives over the bar from 25 yards. It’s another reminder of Brighton’s progressive approach.
3 min Werner slides a dangerous low cross that just evades Mount. It wouldn’t have counted as Werner was flagged offside after the event.
2 min Chelsea are playing a 4-2-3-1, with Loftus-Cheek ahead of Kante and Jorginho and Havertz on the right. Brighton’s formation is a straight 3-5-2.
1 min Peep peep! After both sets of players take a knee, Brighton kick off from left to right.
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Brighton are wearing their new home strip, the best of all this season’s kits for my money, not that I’ll be spending any on it. Chelsea are wearing this.
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The players are in the tunnel, ready for another season. Right Here, Right Now is on the tannoy. It’s business o’clock.
Sheffield United 0-2 Wolves was the score in the early game. Wolves were 2-0 up inside six minutes: Raul Jimenez’s high-class finish was followed by a header from Romain Saiss.
“It’s nice to see Lampard mixing four academy graduates with the new toys,” says Roberto Álvarez. Unfortunately, where Caballero or Mendy should be, there is a kind of friendly looking Spaniard warming up. Seems like a good guy. Don’t know if he can parry a ball though.”
“Kindly explain,” says Kalema Leon, “the meaning of ‘mouthwatometer’.”
Well, it’s an ometer that tells you how much your mouth is watering. I broke mine the first time I smelt the bone marrow gravy at the Hawksmoor.
Pre-match business
“Ok,” says Rob Coughlin, “I thought Pulisic was fit again? Wa’happened?”
I haven’t a clue. You’re welcome! (I thought he’d be on the bench as well.)
Team news
Timo Werner and Kai Havertz start for Chelsea, as do Adam Lallana and Ben White for Brighton. The rest of the Chelsea’s summer signings are either injured or not match-fit. Their next signing, Edouard Mendy, will have his gloves kept warm by Kepa.
Brighton (3-5-2) Ryan; White, Dunk, Webster; Lamptey, Lallana, Bissouma, Alzate, March; Maupay, Trossard.
Substitutes: Steele, Burn, Veltman, Stephens, Gross, Jahanbakhsh, Connolly.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1) Kepa; James, Christensen, Zouma, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho; Havertz, Loftus-Cheek, Mount; Werner.
Substitutes: Caballero, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Barkley, Abraham, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi.
Referee Craig Pawson
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Preamble
Hello. At the start of a new season, there’s always a unique buzz around the team that has spent the most money. This year it’s Chelsea, who have divested themselves of around £200m to sign some serious talent. The most eye-catching signings are Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, the two best young players in Germany, but Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Hakim Ziyech also register pretty highly on the mouthwatometer.
It’s arguably Chelsea’s most exciting spree since 2003, when a newly rich club bought 42 per cent of the registered professional footballers on the planet. The new team gelled pretty quickly: that season Chelsea finished second and reached the Champions League semi-final, and their manager Claudio Ranieri was sacked.
Lampard should get more time but there’s no doubt, as Jonathan Wilson wrote yesterday, that expectations have increased enormously. Lampard would prefer that to the less ambitious alternative of trying to finish fourth and one win of the domestic cups. If expectations have increased, then so have the opportunities.
Brighton’s expectations are inevitably more modest but they should improve on a promising first season under Graham Potter. Adam Lallana is an intriguing addition to a squad that is already full of creativity and positive intent. One thing’s for sure: this will be a very watchable match.
Kick off 8.15pm.
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