Chelsea

Will Faulks
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

A red card born of an error followed by a bad decision, defensive changes and an eventual collapse. Sound familiar? Chelsea repeated many of the frustrations from the defeat at Manchester United in the home loss to Brighton.

In this case, the Blues were at least winning the game when they decided to remove all their attacking threat. But once again, switching to a defensive stance reduced their ability to create anything, without actually helping them keep goals out.

Enzo Maresca has since admitted these were mistakes and that he is learning from them - but that is cold comfort for fans who are already very worried.

Last season, Chelsea survived a desperate spell of form in the winter because of the points they had accumulated in the autumn. This year, they have started much more slowly. In addition, the fact they had no pre-season and were playing in the Club World Cup until July means a mid-season dip is even more likely.

Talk of the manager being under pressure is premature - but things are heading in the wrong direction, even if there is a long way to go.

The squad are half exhausted and half injured - and it is not yet October. The same lack of experience which hurt us so much last term still haunts us.

Maresca's mea culpa shows that it is not just his squad who are learning on the job.

There is no leadership at the back and no coherent, consistent attacking play. More pertinently, there is now no Cole Palmer to make up for those failings.

This week could be another punishing one. Jose Mourinho's Benfica come to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to face a wounded Chelsea, and will smell blood.

Then Liverpool on Saturday is an even more worrying prospect.

Find more from Will Faulks at Chelsea News, external

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Pedro Neto says Jose Mourinho is "one of the biggest names in Portugal" and facing him will be a point of "pride".

Mourinho will return to the club he won three Premier League titles with over two spells as Benfica manager in the Champions League on Tuesday, 18 years on from his final game as Chelsea boss.

Much of Enzo Maresca and Pedro Neto's pre-match news conference was dominated by chat around the Mourinho's return, with Portugal international Neto paying tribute to his countryman.

"As a Portuguese [player] it will be a pride to play against Mourinho," he said.

"What he represents to the club and what he represents to Portuguese people as well, the opportunity he gave to Portuguese people to go around the world and play in the best teams and manage the best clubs.

"We are really looking forward to playing against them and it is a really good opportunity to bounce back as well."

After beginning his managerial career briefly with Benfica, Mourinho shot to superstardom with his success as Porto manager, winning five trophies in two scintillating seasons - including the Champions League - before moving to Chelsea in 2004.

A trophy-laden career has also included several controversies, but Neto believes his perception in his homeland will always remain positive.

"You cannot have a divided opinion on him," he added.

"What he did for Portugal, what he did for Portuguese people, what he has won. People in Portugal respect him a lot and know the value that he has. Benfica hired him for that reason. He is one of the biggest names in Portugal with [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Luis] Figo.

"It would be a privilege to be managed by Jose Mourinho, who wouldn't want to be managed by him?"

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter at Stamford Bridge

Image source, Getty Images

One of the most fascinating aspects of manager Enzo Maresca's media conference was that it took place in the Drake Suite at Stamford Bridge.

There are three pictures of now-Benfica manager Jose Mourinho lifting Premier League titles in this room, which celebrates every league title at Chelsea, beginning with the first lifted by Ted Drake in 1955.

It nicely sets up Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge and Maresca was full of respect for the legendary manager.

However, there were also interesting themes exploring Maresca's own fraught relationships with the Chelsea fan base - as Mourinho is largely expected to be welcomed back despite having managed Tottenham and Manchester United.

Maresca looked very relaxed and even offered up his own concession that he hasn't performed well managing his team when down to 10 men.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Champions League game against Benfica at Stamford Bridge (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Moises Caicedo, Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos all have "small problems" so will be assessed this afternoon to see whether they can be available.

• He wants to "maintain" a high level team for the Champions League but added they "have many players out" and also play Liverpool at the weekend.

• He said "it's a privilege to come up against" Jose Mourinho, who "is a legend for this club".

• On the opposition: "It's probably a little bit more difficult because all the games I have watched is with the former manager. It will be a completely different game compared to the Club World Cup game."

• He said he would like to achieve Premier League and Champions League success that Mourinho did at Chelsea "one day" and "to enjoy these kind of moments together".

• On fans still singing Mourinho's name but not his: "I would like it one day for sure, but it is not my target. They have chanted 'we have our Chelsea back' before and if they can sing that then I am already happy."

• He said "there is no reason to be negative about the last six months" because they have only lost five games in all competitions and four of those have been when the Blues were down to 10 men.

• On ill-discipline: "After a review of the last two games, I should have done better in terms of decisions but it is a learning process. There is no reason we need to create panic. I don't think we need to defend ourselves. Compared to last season we have all improved. Learning to play with 10 players is something I need to do better."

Follow all of Monday's Champions League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter at Stamford Bridge

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will not feel like he is in a position of weakness when facing the media today before a Champions League match with Benfica.

The Italian has endured a difficult post international break and only won once in five matches - an unconvincing victory over League One side Lincoln City - and the latest 3-1 defeat to Brighton on Saturday was disappointing.

However, there is no sense his job is in any immediate danger.

His post-match meeting with Chelsea's four sporting directors, Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, Joe Shields and Sam Jewell, along with co-owner Behdad Eghbali at Stamford Bridge at the weekend was routine.

As part of that meeting, it was mentioned that four of Chelsea's five defeats in the last five months have been in matches where one of their players has been sent off.

There is an acknowledgement that Chelsea are in a rut through injuries at the moment.

Yet, there is still a belief Maresca can qualify for the Champions League to achieve the club's goals before a post-season meeting to appraise his performance as manager.

Maresca will be confident he will continue for at least seven more months.

Regardless, today will likely feel like Jose Mourinho's day.

The legendary former Chelsea manager returns to Stamford Bridge in a later media conference that will be highly attended by both British and Portuguese press.

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

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Laura Kenyon
Final Score reporter at Stamford Bridge

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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.