Chelsea

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Chelsea and Brighton at Stamford Bridge.

Here are some of your comments:

Chelsea fans

Fossie: What a rotten performance. They totally lost the narrative in the second half. If you can't keep 11 players on the pitch, you don't deserve to win. The players losing their heads does not help anything. Maresca really needs to shake this lot up. Two weeks in a row is awful.

Femi: No disrespect to Maresca but I think he is a mediocre coach. Imagine having expensive players at your disposal yet not knowing how to tidy up your defence and conceding a lot of goals to individual errors. He also hasn't instilled discipline into his players, who can't stop picking up red cards. Chelsea should go for a more experienced coach.

Jason: Maresca's in-game tactics are poor. He takes off pace and creativity, and it doesn't work. It's too early to start talking about sacking him, but he needs to improve or the axe will be hovering!

John: No decent transfer policy at Chelsea, no decent goalkeepers, no decent central defenders and a very inexperienced manager. We could be easily relegated!

Brighton fans

Sarah: The first half was a bit lacklustre but I'm so happy for Welbeck - he really needed that and so did we. Dunk played well too. What's going on with Simon Hooper? He missed the obvious red for Chalobah and the clear penalty for the kick to Minteh's head. You could see the contact, so how VAR ruled no contact is a mystery. It should've been 4-1 but we will take the win.

Pedro: We played as a team and, as so often happens, we were at our best in the final third. Welbeck must be wary of earning the title of 'super sub' because that's exactly what he was in this match.

Tim: A great result that shows Hurzeler can make a difference with his substitutions. The referee seemed like he was Chelsea's 12th man but we still managed to assert ourselves in the end.

Chris: It feels like Brighton have turned a corner this week. The atmosphere was electric in the away end of Stamford Bridge. I've now seen nine goals during two away games in just four days. Up the Albion!

Real Madrid are keeping tabs on two Chelsea midfielders - 24-year-old Argentina international Enzo Fernandez and 23-year-old Ecuador international Moises Caicedo. (TBR Football), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Laura Kenyon
Final Score reporter at Stamford Bridge

Image source, Getty Images

The question going round and round in Enzo Maresca's head must be: how has a red card cost Chelsea yet another game?

Two red cards in two weekends is not a stat Chelsea fans had on their wishlist.

All credit to Brighton though, they capitalised on the player advantage, but Chelsea had been dominant up until the sending off.

Based on the first-half performance, you probably would have expected them to go on and cruise to victory but we watched Chelsea literally unravel in front of us.

They survived a scare against Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup midweek, and that was off the back of a first Premier League defeat of the season at Old Trafford.

The Blues haven't looked convincing in recent weeks and with a long list of injuries, Maresca has got a bit of thinking to do with Champions League football and a visit from Liverpool round the corner.

Pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday’s Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Crystal Palace 2-1 Liverpool

• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Sunderland

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Costly mistakes and red cards make up the story for Chelsea at the moment.

Midfielder Andrey Santos was the prime culprit, as Trevoh Chalobah paid for trying and failing to clean up his team-mate's error.

The Brazilian midfielder is inexperienced, and that's the risk Chelsea are taking carrying the youngest squad in the Premier League.

Regardless, head coach Enzo Maresca will need to help his team cut out the mistakes and the ill-discipline, and improve results after just one win in five in all competitions.

That solitary win was an unconvincing 2-1 victory at League One side Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup.

That match aside, Chelsea gave away a last-minute equaliser through poor marking at Brentford. At Bayern Munich, the Blues played well but gave away cheap goals against an experienced Champions League side. In the past two league matches, against Manchester United and Brighton, sending offs have cost them.

The issues at Stamford Bridge are worsened by a selection crisis, with Maresca now without his four favoured centre-backs, as well as star attacker Cole Palmer for the next match against champions Liverpool.

Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo and Levi Colwill are all injured until after the international break and Chalobah is now suspended.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca spoke to BBC Match of the Day after the defeat by Brighton: "At first we were in control of the game, we were winning and we didn't concede anything. But because of our mistake, we went down to 10 players and unfortunately the game changed.

"It wasn't a sloppy second half, we were just with 10 players so the game changed completely. We were defending quite well until the 1-1. It has been one game, but we have had to play in two different ways.

"First half was completely for us. Second half was completely for them.

"You can always do something better no doubt. I think we can do better defensively and offensively."

On the red card decision: "I didn't watch it back to be honest. If they decide it's a red card, it's probably a red card."

On how to turn things around: "We will try to recover the energy and win on Tuesday night."

Chelsea defender Jorrel Hato also spoke to Premier League Productions after the match: "I think for everyone in the first half, we were playing good. We dominated them. We scored a good goal but in the second half, after 10 minutes, we concede a red card. After that, we knew it could be difficult.

"For me, it looks like Trevoh [Chalobah] was playing the ball. I have to see it back again though, I don't know. When you're 10 men against 11 men for 40 minutes, it is a big job."

On Danny Welbeck's first goal: "We knew they were playing to the side and coming in with crosses. I would have to see that goal back as well, but we could've done better with it."

On playing alongside Josh Acheampong: "I've known him for a long time. We are the same age and he is a very intelligent player. It was nice to play with him."

Did you know?

• Chelsea lost by two or more goals, after being ahead at half-time, in a Premier League home game for the first time since October 2011 against Arsenal (5-3).

• Enzo Fernandez has been directly involved in 18 non-penalty goals (8 goals, 10 assists) in all competitions in 2025 - the most contributions by any central midfielder in the Premier League.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

What did you make of Brighton's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Chelsea draft in Andrey Santos and Jorrel Hato for injured duo Cole Palmer and Wesley Fofana in two changes from defeat at Manchester United last weekend.

Striker Joao Pedro also starts to face his former club.

Brighton bring in Diego Gomez after his four-goal midweek Carabao Cup haul against Barnsley in place of Brajan Gruda from last weekend's draw with Tottenham.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella, Santos, Caicedo, Estevao, Fernandez Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Gusto, Badiashile, Lavia, Gittens, Garnacho, George, Guiu

Brighton XI: Verbruggen, Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Baleba, Ayari, Minteh, Gomez, Mitoma, Rutter

Substitutes: Steele, De Cuyper, Bosagli, Coppola, Wieffer, Milner, Gruda, Tzimas, Welbeck

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Brentford v Manchester United (12:30)

• Chelsea v Brighton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Crystal Palace v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Leeds United v Bournemouth

• Manchester City v Burnley

• Nottingham Forest v Sunderland (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Tottenham v Wolves (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Crystal Palace v Liverpool" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Nottingham Forest v Sunderland", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

This is quite a big game for Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca after his side lost to Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

I was at their Carabao Cup tie with Lincoln City in midweek and they were expected to win that tie, which they did, but the Imps caused them all sorts of problems and Chelsea are just not very convincing at the moment.

It hardly helps that Cole Palmer must be a big doubt to play after he came off injured against United, and they will miss him badly if he is ruled out.

When I think of Brighton, I always think they will score goals but they can be quite inconsistent.

There are that many of their former players at Chelsea, this is like Brighton versus Brighton Old Boys - and I don't think either side will do enough to win it.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea aim to bounce back from a first league defeat of the season at Old Trafford last weekend against a Brighton side riding high after becoming the first team in League Cup history to score six goals in back-to-back matches.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes going into Saturday's game at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea's nightmare first half

Chelsea's loss to Manchester United was underpinned by a surreal first half which became the first in Premier League history to see two or more goals, red cards and substitutions take place.

Robert Sanchez's red card after five minutes was the fastest a keeper has been sent off in the Premier League in 30 years - since Tim Flowers for Blackburn Rovers in 1995 - while Chelsea's three substitutions in the opening 21 minutes (including Cole Palmer) was the fastest any team has changed three players in a Premier League match.

Blues boss Enzo Maresca said afterwards that Palmer had not been fully fit although his removal compromised Chelsea's ability to get back into the game once United midfielder Casemiro had also been dismissed for two yellow cards.

The Blues have since survived a scare to win at Lincoln City in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.

Maresca made nine changes for the trip to the LNER Stadium and while first-team regulars will return at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, the Chelsea boss is managing the absence of up to nine senior players, who are either injured, suspended or ineligible.

Can Brighton replicate EFL Cup performance?

Brighton have won just one of their past 12 visits to Stamford Bridge in all competitions but could this weekend provide an opportunity to improve that record against an injury-hit home team who have conceded two goals in each of their last two Premier League outings?

The Seagulls scored six goals at Barnsley in the Carabao Cup earlier this week, following a 6-0 win at Oxford United in round two, but their away form in the top flight must improve following defeats at Everton and Bournemouth so far this season.

Getting the balance right between attack and defence has been something of an issue for Fabian Hurzeler: Brighton have only kept one clean sheet in their past 17 Premier League matches, a 2-0 win over Wolves in May.

However, they are unbeaten in their past 16 games when netting the first goal (W8, D8) - meaning an early breakthrough at Stamford Bridge could be crucial.

Should Brighton upset Chelsea to win the game, don't be surprised if the winner comes from the Seagulls' stock of young talent.

Brighton's two scorers against Tottenham in the 2-2 draw last weekend were 21-year-olds Yankuba Minteh and Yasin Ayari – something of a familiar theme.

Since the start of the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, Brighton have scored 21 goals via players aged 21 or under – at least seven more than any other club.

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 commentary of Chelsea v Brighton at 15:00 BST on Saturday

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Brighton at Stamford Bridge (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Maresca confirmed Cole Palmer will be out until after the October international break: "We have decided to protect Cole, in terms of not getting a worse injury. We have decided to rest him for the next two or three weeks - until [after the] international break - to see if he can recover 100% and be completely fit."

• He added: "I don't think any surgery [is needed]. Just a matter of managing pain in his groin. With the amount of games, something can happen - that is why we will try to be conservative with him. We give him rest."

• Facundo Buonanotte could play in Palmer's position, but it "depends on the game, the other team and how they defend", said Maresca, who added: "With Cole we are a better team, but we need to play games without Cole. We are not playing with 10 players, we are playing with 11, for sure."

• The Chelsea boss also confirmed Tosin Adarabioyo is out with a calf injury and Wesley Fofana is unavailable because of concussion, but Romeo Lavia and Benoit Badiashile "are better" and could return this week.

• On the goalkeeper situation after Robert Sanchez's sending off against Manchester United: "The last part of last season and the beginning of this season he was fantastic. He made a mistake against Manchester United and recognised that. I have said many times, when a keeper makes a mistake or when a midfielder makes a mistake, it is exactly the same. We are happy with Robert, we are happy with Filip [Jorgensen]. There is not any problem with Robert."

• He added: "We conceded maybe five goals because of a Robert mistake, but how many goals have we avoided with Robert? I think many."

• Maresca feels he has "already shown trust and confidence" in defender Josh Acheampong, having played him last season when all central defenders were available. He added: "Part of my job is to find solutions when we have some problems in terms of numbers."

• On whether out-of-favour Axel Disasi could be used with lack of defensive options: "There is not any information from the club to consider that so, at the moment, it is not an option."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary of Chelsea v Brighton from 15:00 on Saturday on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 on BBC Sounds

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The mood around Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca appears to be gradually shifting.

Last season, the Italian expressed his affection for the squad he inherited upon taking the job with the Blues.

However, he has now openly voiced dissatisfaction over the failure to sign a central defender following Levi Colwill's injury, and young players like Marc Guiu and Josh Acheampong are not getting opportunities under his management.

Additionally, last week, he praised Liverpool's transfer business, stating: "If they continue this way, I think it is impossible to catch them."

These comments preceded a challenging week in which the team went winless in three away matches before narrowly securing a victory against League One Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup.

We may be approaching a crossroads in Maresca's tenure, so it will be intriguing to see whether the team unites or if divisions emerge behind the scenes at Chelsea.

Bayern Munich are preparing to offer a long-term contract to Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson. The 24-year-old is currently on loan to the German side from Chelsea. (Bild – in German and subscription required), external

Chelsea opted against rivalling Manchester City for Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 26, in the summer in order to keep the path clear to move for AC Milan's France stopper Mike Maignan, 30, in the future. (Teamtalk), external

Liverpool are hoping to tie France defender Ibrahima Konate, 26, down to a new contract amid interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. (TBR Football), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on the Champions League ticket process at Stamford Bridge after the Chelsea Supporters' Trust (CST) called for the club to "stop exploiting our loyalty, external".

Here are some of your comments:

Barry: First of all, it's not right for supporters to be expected to have that kind of money to be able to buy all the tickets in one go and, secondly, the price increase for the games isn't right either. I had to pay £206, which works out at £51.50 per ticket. I'm also paying for my son, who can't afford the whole amount in one go. I'm paying the same amount to watch Barcelona as Pafos.

Paula: As season ticket-holders, we were told we either had to buy the whole bundle (with immediate total payment) within the week or we will likely be unable to purchase our own seats. Totally unacceptable. They want tourists, not loyal fans, and this is another step towards this.

Mark: Really don't know what all the fuss is about. I've been a season ticket-holder for 30 years in the East Upper. Bought mine and my son's tickets straight away. Saves all the hassle of having to remember to buy the individual games and missing purchasing slots.

James: Unfortunately, this is the way it is going with regards ticket prices and for many, this will mean they are unable to go and watch their team. Fans are already paying high sums of money for tickets, merchandise and memberships, on top of travel costs. The fans are the lifeblood of the game and should never be taken advantage of.

Paul: Absolutely agree with the CST. I have paid £67, including the booking fee, for a seat in the Mathew Harding Lower. Nonsense price for the league phase.

Barney: £50 a game for UCL seems cheap to me and I live up north... and it's a great thing to know you have secured all four games tickets too. That should cost more, I believe. What is it that people are unhappy about? A small takeaway on one of the rip-off apps would cost that much - some perspective needed methinks.

David: The whole ticketing situation is bad. Communication is poor, prices are too high and the membership tiers do not work fairly. Owners just don't care about the real fans - they just want to make money.

Dell: This is the problem the supporters have. The club knows the loyal fans will buy a ticket. The fact the club has said that if you don't purchase the "package", you might not be able to get your normal seat when the tickets go on "normal" sale stinks. All this money in their bank account is earning interest for them months before the tickets would normally be available.

Pat Nevin
Former Chelsea and Scotland winger

Image source, Getty Images

The growing trend of treating players in what would be considered an unreasonable way, by consigning them to the 'bomb squad', appears to be growing again in the Premier League.

Manchester United finally got rid of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho, but in the end that was mostly done when it suited the players themselves and they found clubs they wanted to be playing for.

Axel Disasi and Raheem Sterling are getting the same treatment at Chelsea now. Sympathy will be limited, even if Sterling is being forced to train in the evenings to keep him from contaminating the main squad. For £350,000 each week, most of us would put up with a light training session after dinner. I get that.

When players feel badly treated, however, they can dig their heels in and cite the age-old adage, "pay up every penny I am owed in my contract and I will happily leave".

Transferring millions of pounds into his account and telling him to go away is understandably not what Chelsea want to do, but they might have to.

This is one of the reasons clubs have historically been unwilling to hand out seven, eight and nine-year contracts. You never know when the form is going to crash.

And there's the rub - every player now knows how they will be treated, they will be dealt with just like their mate Raheem is right now.

That isn't good for team spirit. Even though players are selfish, it can still negatively affect team spirit and any sense of true belonging.

Sign up to read more from Pat Nevin in his Football Extra newsletter

Chelsea are planning a move for 22-year-old French defender Ismael Doukoure, who is at fellow BlueCo-owned club Strasbourg, amid interest from a number of other Premier League teams. (TBR Football), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Image source, Getty Images

The fourth-round fixtures of the EFL Cup have been confirmed:

• Arsenal v Brighton

• Grimsby Town v Brentford

• Swansea City v Manchester City

• Newcastle United v Tottenham

• Wrexham v Cardiff City

• Liverpool v Crystal Palace

• Wolves v Chelsea

• Wycombe v Fulham

Ties to be played in the week of 27 October