Chelsea held off a Brighton fightback to clinch a thrilling 4-3 victory at Stamford Bridge, continuing their winning start under manager Xabi Alonso. The Blues raced into a three-goal lead through Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and former Brighton forward Joao Pedro, but the visitors responded with Malick Yalcoule's strike and a Pascal Gross deflection past debutant Emiliano Martinez. Cole Palmer's superb fourth goal sealed the win, while Brighton's Martinez made several impressive saves as they managed only 25.6 per cent possession - the lowest on record in a Premier League game.
Chelsea were without Enzo Fernandez amid Manchester City interest, while Moises Caicedo was injured early. The victory extends Alonso's perfect start following a 3-2 win over Fulham, with Joao Pedro and Palmer scoring consecutive games. Brighton missed key players including Georginio Rutter, Jack Hinshelwood, Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing