Player ratings as Potter’s return ends in disaster

Graham Potter’s return to Brighton could hardly have gone worse as the Seagulls tormented his Chelsea side to the tune of a 4-1 victory.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring inside three minutes before Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah turned into their own net in a catastrophic first half, after which Kai Havertz’s consolation header meant very little.

Thiago Silva was both villain and hero in the first few minutes. A poor pass gifted Trossard with a chance which the Brazilian had to clear off the line, before he again repelled Pervis Estupinan’s strike from the corner that followed.

Not learning his lesson, Silva lost possession once again and Trossard made no mistake this time, rounding Kepa and firing into the bottom corner to put Brighton ahead just five minutes in.

The Seagulls kept pressing and bagged a deserved second ten minutes later. Solly March’s corner found its way to the knee of the unsuspecting Loftus-Cheek, who could only watch on as the ball ended up in the back of the net.

Robert Sanchez made two excellent saves to prevent two separate Conor Gallagher goals, the first of which was followed by a huge miss from Christian Pulisic, before the stopper did well to keep out another effort from Havertz.

The third came shortly before half-time. Estupinan found some space in the box and his cross was turned into the net by Chalobah, whose unbeaten run as a Chelsea starter came to an end in an emphatic fashion.

Chelsea pulled one back inside three second-half minutes. Gallagher’s cross landed on the head of Havertz, who guided the ball into the net to set up an interesting half of football.

The Blues were much-improved and dominated the ball as the clock ticked on, but apart from the odd glimpse, they couldn’t find a way through an incredibly stubborn Brighton defence, who were just as prepared to do the dirty work.

The Seagulls held on relatively comfortably and added a fourth before the final whistle as Pascal Gross tapped home a rebound in stoppage time to seal a famous victory in style.

GK: Robert Sanchez – 7/10 – Made some excellent saves in the first half when Chelsea were threatening to get back into the game.

RB: Pascal Gross – 8/10 – No idea why he was playing right-back but can’t deny that it worked. Even coped when under immense pressure after the break.

CB: Lewis Dunk – 7/10 – Some unreal passing from the back. Think there was a Trivela at one point.

CB: Adam Webster – 6/10 – Not always…