Chelsea

We asked for your views on Thursday's Premier League game between Brighton and Chelsea.

Here are some of your responses

Brighton fans

Keith: We will be back next season. Some good transfers in the summer and we will be OK.

Mark: The seagulls are really back on form. The Aston Villa, Newcastle and Chelsea games were all excellent football and showing of a deserved place at 10th. Pedro and Adringa have been outstanding!

Richard: Poor season continues. Play like this and the Championship beckons.

Chelsea fans

Matthew: Great win that puts us into sixth place. Great goal from Palmer and it is also great to see Nkunku on the scoresheet (and his celebration, of course), but we did make it nervy before full-time. One more game left which could see us confirm our place in Europe. I am really proud of the team for the way they have performed in the last five games.

Paul: I thought Chelsea were excellent against a very difficult team. We dominated the game especially in midfield and Cole Palmer was his usual incredible self. He is definitely the steal of the season and I hope there is no buy-back clause. But the one real low point was Reece James. Really James - you are better than that. You are one of our own.

Freddie: Ending the season looking like a proper team and everyone working fluidly together. It was great to see Nkunku back on the pitch and scoring too. Let's see the season out and trim the squad over summer to get back into Europe where we belong.

Fossie: Generally a good performance. Pochettino has got them playing well, especially against teams below us in the league. Up to sixth with Europe on the horizon and I now think Poch should see out the next year of his contract. The blight on the performance was Reece James. He is a liability and if we need to sell someone to meet Financial Fair Play rules, it is him we should sell.

Aaron: Happy with a strong finish to the season but some inconsistencies remain. We seem to be maturing with game management, especially given the James red card. I feel optimistic of a top four-finish next season if we sign a top centre-back and hold on to Gallagher.

Chelsea have prepared a fresh bid for Palmeiras winger Willian Estevao after agreeing terms with the 17-year-old Brazil youth international last week. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Chelsea will earn a £5m bonus under the terms of Eden Hazard's 2019 transfer to Real Madrid after the Spanish side reached the Champions League final - despite the 33-year-old former Belgium forward retiring seven months ago. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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

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Cole Palmer is one of the signings of the season. Before he joined Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer, the 22-year-old had never scored in the top flight.

In this campaign he has managed 22 goals and 10 assists in 33 league games.

And his goal tally also matches Chelsea legend Frank Lampard's highest ever return in a Premier League season.

Palmer once again shone in an eventful game that was sparked into life after Reece James was sent-off late on and Brighton netted a consolation goal.

Chelsea though managed to hold on, scraping a fourth consecutive win for the first time since 2022.

With a three-point gap to Tottenham, Chelsea could end the season as high as fifth if results fall their way on the final day on Sunday.

It would mark an incredible turnaround. Mauricio Pochettino's side have recovered from a poor start to the campaign and were in 12th place as recently as 3 April.

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino speaking to Sky Sports: "It's always very competitive, the Premier League is the toughest league in the world. Full credit to the players, we fully deserved the victory, that's why I'm so happy and it allows us to dream to play in Europe next season.

"We need to think about recovery and keep the mentality of going to win and see what happens. The most important thing is belief and performances and the performances and results are really good.

"We dominated from the beginning against a team that's not easy to play, that's why we're so proud and so happy. The evolution of the team is there."

On the future of VAR: "Next season we have to see if we can improve how we use VAR. For me it's not in or out, it's about improving how we use it. It can be amazing to have it in the right way and VAR can be a fantastic tool to help the referees and us."

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea goalscorer Cole Palmer said: "We needed three points and it was hard towards the end but for it to be in our hands to get sixth place is a big thing for us.

"Marc [Cucurella] knows where I'm going to be and I lifted it [the header] over the goalkeeper.

"Chelsea is a big club and everyone wants to finish higher than sixth but you have to look at where we were at the start of the season so to get back into Europe would be a step in the right direction.

"All credit to the manager. All the players love the manager and want to fight for him."

Here are the key facts and figures from Wednesday's game between Brighton and Chelsea in the Premier League.

• Chelsea have won four successive Premier League games for the first time since October 2022, while it is as many wins as in their previous 12 matches in the competition (D5 L3).

• Only the Premier League's bottom four sides – Sheffield United (seven), Luton (11), Nottingham Forest (13) and Burnley (13) – have collected fewer points in 2024 than Brighton (18), with the Seagulls winning just one of their past nine games in the competition (D3 L5).

• Chelsea's Premier League games this season have seen 137 goals in total (75 scored, 62 conceded), their most in a single campaign in the competition.

• Cole Palmer has now scored 22 goals for Chelsea in the Premier League this season, only Didier Drogba (29 in 2009-10) and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (23 in 2000-01 and 2001-02) have more for the Blues in a single campaign.

• Only against West Ham (six) and Aston Villa (five) does Danny Welbeck have more Premier League goals than against Chelsea (four), while the Brighton striker is just the eighth different player in the competition to score at least 15 goals as a substitute.

Cole Palmer's brilliant season with Chelsea continued as his goal helped the Blues boost their European qualification hopes with a win at Brighton in the Premier League.

Palmer netted his 22nd league strike of the season, meeting Marc Cucurella's cross with a looping header into the far corner in the 34th minute.

And the visitors added a second 14 minutes after the restart when Christopher Nkunku coolly dispatched Malo Gusto's cutback.

Having been so dominant Chelsea gifted Brighton a way back into the game when substitute Reece James - playing just his second match in 2024 after coming back from a long-term injury - was shown a straight red card for kicking out at Joao Pedro.

In the 97th-minute Danny Welbeck netted to halve the deficit, tapping in a Pedro cross, but the visitors held on.

Chelsea moved up to sixth in the table and currently sit in a Europa League spot.

They will guarantee a place in Europe next season if they claim a point at home to Bournemouth on the final day.

Brighton fell to a seventh defeat in ninth matches but remain in 10th place.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Brighton fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did the Blues perform, Chelsea fans?

Follow all of the post-match reaction here

There are four Premier League teams in action today and we will keep you updated on all of the action from the two games.

Follow all of the team news and build-up

We asked our Chelsea fan contributor for their four player of the season choices and you can now vote for your top one.

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Conor Gallagher

Rumours of the Cobham graduate's possible departure this summer still circulating baffles most Chelsea observers. Far more than just an effort player. Gallagher has found the net with more regularity in the second half of the season, while also showing his chops breaking up opposition attacks - two ingredients any successful side needs.

Football has always been a game of more than just numbers and Conor has worn the captain's armband very well in the absence of Reece James. If financial rules dictate his departure, it will demonstrate not just one, but a series of mistakes by the club's hierarchy.

Malo Gusto

With James' unfortunate long-term absence, a lot has rested on the young France international's shoulders this season - and the right-back has excelled, showing energy in attack where he has accumulated more assists than every other Chelsea defender combined without shirking his defensive duties.

Whoever the Chelsea manager is next season, provided both are fit, there is now a selection headache on the right-side of defence, which says something about how well Gusto has adapted to English football.

Cole Palmer

'Cold' Palmer hit the ground running for Chelsea, standing out from day one and turning in one of the best single-season performances from a wide player at the club ever, outscoring even Eden Hazard's best year in blue while providing more assists than any other player to boot.

It does not bear thinking how the Blues' campaign would have turned out without the left-footed wonder.

Raheem Sterling

Sterling has been a divisive figure at the Bridge this season and deservedly drew ire for some poor dead-ball efforts in an FA Cup victory over Leicester City. However, that game also showed the end product the England international does bring to the team, notching an assist and also winning the penalty he missed.

Honourable mentions

Shoutouts should also go to: Djordje Petrovic, who brought stability between the posts from the midway point of the season; Noni Madueke, who has upped his game of late; the ageless Thiago Silva; and Nicolas Jackson, who - despite missing plenty of chances - never hid and has shown a higher ceiling than his raw offensive numbers for this year would illustrate.

Pick your 2023-24 Chelsea player of the season from our shortlist here

Ross Mooring can be found at Chelsea Fancast, external

BBC pundit Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For Wednesday's game between Brighton and Chelsea, which was postponed from week 34 because of the FA Cup semi-finals, he takes on singer-songwriter and Arsenal fan Sam Tompkins.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Brighton got a good draw with Newcastle United at the weekend, but their results in the second half of the season have not been great.

There has been a lot of talk about the future of Seagulls boss Roberto de Zerbi but, as I have said before, perhaps his stock is not what it once was. He is not being linked with every big vacant managerial position in Europe any more.

In contrast, Chelsea are flying. They have got sixth place in their sights and they have certainly found some consistency, even if it has come a little later in the season than they would have wanted.

I actually fancy them here, for what would be their fourth win on the spin.

Tompkins' prediction: 2-0

Here are the key facts and figures before Wednesday's game between Brighton and Chelsea in the Premier League.

• After a five-game unbeaten run against Chelsea between 2021 and 2023 (W2 D3), Brighton have lost both meetings with the Blues in all competitions this season. Chelsea lost this exact fixture 4-1 last season, but have never lost consecutive visits to Brighton in all competitions.

• Chelsea have only won their final away league game in one of the past six seasons (D1 L4), beating Leeds 3-0 in 2021-22.

• Brighton have failed to score more than once in each of their past 11 Premier League games, their longest such run in the competition. They last had a longer run without scoring at least twice in a league game between March and August 2015 (12), last having a longer such run in a single season in 2004-05 (a run of 15 between September and December 2004).

• Chelsea have won 29 points in the Premier League in 2024 (P16 W8 D5 L3), with only the top three clubs Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool winning more since the turn of the year. The Blues have lost just one of their last 13 league games (W7 D5), and will be looking to win four on the bounce for the first time since October 2022.

• Brighton have won 16 of their 33 Premier League home games under Roberto de Zerbi (D9 L8). A win over Chelsea will mean the Italian has won more matches with the Seagulls at Amex Stadium in the competition than any other manager, overtaking Graham Potter's 16 wins in 60 such games (Chris Hughton won 13 of 38).

• If James Milner features for Brighton in this game, it will be the 38th different time he has played against Chelsea in the Premier League - the joint-most any player has faced an opponent in the competition's history (Ryan Giggs also 38 v Liverpool).

• Nicolas Jackson has been directly involved in five goals in his past three Premier League games for Chelsea (four goals, one assist), as many as in his previous 11 such games (three goals, two assists). With 14 league goals already this term, none of which have been penalties, he could be the first player for the Blues to score 15 non-penalty goals in a Premier League season since Tammy Abraham in 2019-20.

Chelsea will accept an offer in the region of £35m for 31-year-old Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku. (Football Insider), external

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

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Mauricio Pochettino says he is "planning for next season" at Chelsea despite uncertainty surrounding his future at the club.

The Argentine manager has come under intense scrutiny at times during his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge and before last weekend's 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest said it would "not be the end of the world" if he were to leave the Blues in the summer.

Asked about his future, he said: "We are planning. We are working. We cannot take some comment from my side [before the Forest game] in a negative way. Always I try to be positive and try to translate my feelings to the people.

"I never said I'm not thinking in the future. Already the plan is there to start pre-season. In the end, it's not in my hands to be here or not to be here.

"We [the coaching staff] are not fake people. We are not going to say we love something when we still don't have an emotional link. It's easy for me to arrive and after the first game start to kiss the badge. I respect the people who can do this, but it's not my nature. I want to create real feelings."

Since a home defeat by Wolves on Christmas Eve, only the top three of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have collected more points than Pochettino's side, placing them in a good position to secure European football for next season.

"The problem is we are punished because of the first 10 games," he added.

"After our first 10 games, I think we are in the top four. That's the problem..

"Right now, [the conversation is] stuck, like the Coldplay song. Stuck in reverse. Stuck and going back. You remember the song? 'Fix You.'

"From now on, I'm going to stop talking about a young squad and injuries. I hope next season we can have all the players fit and be competitive, to fight between them for a place and [show they] deserve to be in the starting XI.

"I am dreaming of that."

Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's trip to face Brighton in the Premier League (19:45 BST kick-off).

The Blues will be looking to continue their recent good form and push for European football.

Here are the main lines from his news conference:

• Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka are back in team training but will be assessed before the match. Chelsea are still without long-term absentees Enzo Fernandez, Robert Sanchez, Wesley Fofana and Romeo Lavia.

• On facing Brighton and trying to achieve European qualification: "It is important to keep a strong mentality and really believe. They are going to be two really tough games. Brighton are a really good team and they are going to be really tough to play against, and then [we have] Bournemouth at home [on the final day]. The most important thing is to believe."

• He added: "In the second part of the season - in the past 26 or 27 games - I think we are doing really well. We need to keep in this way - always trying to give our best, to compete and keep improving. If we can compete well in the last two games, then we have the possibility to get into Europe, which would be amazing for us."

• On his future and next season: "I always try to be positive and I try to translate my feelings - to you and to the people. But I never said I am not thinking of the future. We are thinking of the future; it is already planned. The plan is there to start the pre-season - the date we are going to start - and then it is not in my hands to be here or not to be here."

• He continued: "Of course, I am so excited for the future. If we keep the main group and add some quality, and keep on the same run as the past 26 or 27 games, we can compete for big things."

• On the fact that only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have picked up more points than Chelsea since 26 December: "We have players who are improving and getting more mature. They are living their first experience in the Premier League. To match the history of Chelsea today is impossible. With time, for sure we will match. That is my wish and we are working for that."

• More on the job being done: "Maybe sometimes our fans are not seeing what we are doing. At the moment it is difficult because of the general opinion. I think we are doing a fantastic job. The situation started really badly - all the circumstances from the beginning of the season -[so we had] to keep calm, keep pushing and really believe in the way we are doing [things]."

Follow Tuesday's other Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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The sack race has started, even if it has a different name. One week Ange Postecoglou is for the chop, next it is Erik ten Hag and of course Mauricio Pochettino is never far away from that headline either.

I thought it would take two seasons to find out if the Chelsea experiment would work. Since losing against Liverpool and Wolves in early February the Blues have lost three of their 19 games. These were cup games against Liverpool and Man City then a drubbing at Arsenal. The performances are still up and down, but since that dark February period, they have improved markedly.‌

The decision makers from above still haven’t decided if it is a thumbs up or down on Poch, but I think that is madness. Just when he seems to be delivering something interesting at last, the people who cobbled together a squad that had no chance of winning for a couple of seasons and spend the guts of £1billion doing it, they are now considering changing the strategy again.

One day fans of all clubs will start to ask, when does the spotlight finally turn on those decision makers?‌

Personally I think the answer is soon. The days of the cult of the manager are over, well they will be if the modern owners have their way. It is no longer fair to leave a manager as little more than a flak catcher.‌

We have heard sack the manager, sack the board but at some point soon, the cry of sack the strategists could come. It certainly should do, as most slink in the shadows hiding from both the limelight and any blame for their mistakes.

Pat Nevin was writing for the BBC Football Extra newsletter

During a couple of the more frustrating moments of this season, with injuries limiting his options and poor finishing ruining a couple of potentially great results, Mauricio Pochettino let his frustration get the better of him and used his press conferences to highlight his team's solid underlying numbers.

Pointing to the xG stats that showed his team were creating good chances and just not taking them, with a similar story in reverse at the other end of the pitch, the coach lamented that his side could be as high as fourth.

That kind of reasoning never goes down well with fans or pundits, who can fairly point out that poor finishing and errors in defence are just as much a part of the game as anything else.

Vague allusions to "data" are often the last refuge of a coach struggling to explain bad results. As you would expect, the comments were thrown back in his face a few times.

But since the second time Pochettino made statements to that effect, back in March, he has rather been proven right, with results starting to follow the data more closely.

The underlying numbers have always shown Chelsea to be a top six team, and now the table is closer to reflecting that than ever. With two very winnable games this week to close out the season, the Blues could yet finish as high as fifth and make Pochettino's statements sounds more prophetic than pathetic in the final reckoning.

Will Faulks can be found at Chelsea News, external

Chelsea are looking to sign a forward, left-back and central defender in the summer with the club's sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart set to be leading their transfer business again. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Former Chelsea and Arsenal left-back Ashley Cole, 43, is being targeted by several Championship clubs to take over as manager. (Mirror), external

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

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League title now cannot be decided until the final day of the season but one or two other issues could be settled in midweek.

Aston Villa can clinch the fourth and final Champions League place if they beat Liverpool on Monday.

If they draw, they’ll be sure of fourth place if Tottenham fail to win against Manchester City on Tuesday.

If they lose, they’ll be sure of fourth place if Tottenham lose on Tuesday.

In all other scenarios, it goes to the final day.

Whatever their situation with Villa, Tottenham can ensure a top-five finish (so Europa League at worst) if they avoid defeat against Man City on Tuesday.

If they lose to City, Spurs could still clinch fifth place before their final game if Newcastle AND Chelsea both fail to win on Wednesday.

Newcastle and Chelsea know that whatever they do on Wednesday, they cannot be absolutely sure of European football until the final round of fixtures. However, goal difference means that should Newcastle beat Man Utd, and Chelsea lose at Brighton, it would take a minimum 12-goal swing on the final day for the Magpies to be deprived of sixth place.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty is answering all of your footballing questions.

Kevin James Blakey asked: Good morning Phil. I'm a Chelsea fan of 50 years so I've seen them at their very best and at their very worst.

If we get a world class striker in during the summer and a centre back, plus keep Reece James and Chilwell fit, where do you think we could finish next season?

Phil answered: Hello, Kevin. I think there is definitely the basis of a very good side at Chelsea but they must stick with Mauricio Pochettino to allow him to build on it.

Reece James is like a world-class addition and if they can find someone to put the ball in the net – and why haven’t they already, given the money spent? – then I can seem them challenging for the top four next season.

Follow the rest of Phil McNulty's Q&A