Chelsea earned a much-needed and morale-boosting win in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. Nicolas Jackson netted the only goal of the game shortly after half-time to answer his own critics and ease the early pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino after a torrid start to life in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
The Senegalese forward also saw a second ruled out for offside after linking up brilliantly with Chelsea’s full debutant Cole Palmer, but the hosts still clung on to defeat Roberto De Zerbi’s high-flying Seagulls and seal a spot in round four, where they will be heavy favourites to progress again past Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers.
The win over Brighton was only Chelsea’s third in eight matches across all competitions so far this term and Jackson’s cool strike ended a dire run of three successive games without scoring in a boost before Monday’s west London derby trip to Fulham. Follow Chelsea vs Brighton reaction with Standard Sport’s live blog below, featuring expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella at Stamford Bridge.
