This season, with two games left to the end of the season, Chelsea have secured 13 more points than the whole of last season with 57 points. In the first 18 games of this season, the club accumulated 22 points. In the last 18 games of this season, the club has bettered that statistic by accumulating 35 points.
With the club’s injured players only just returning from their various injuries, the club has statistically had the worst injury record this season of any club in the Premier League.
Considering the statistics all season, the underlying numbers for possession, pass accuracy, shots taken and shots conceded per game, the London club has always performed similar to their current league position.
This has led many pundits to say that the period the club was underperforming was misleading mainly due to poor finishing at one end and a lot of individual mistakes at the other end.
Chelsea Enjoys Dominant First Half
Going into the game, Chelsea had won more points than any other team in the Premier League except Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool since the beginning of the year. Chelsea had a fast start to the match with the referee awarding a penalty for a foul by Buonanotte on Marc Cucurella in the box.
After a VAR check, the penalty was rescinded. 18 minutes later, Conor Gallagher released Cucurella again down the left channel. Cucurella then sent a cross into the box which was met by the head of Cole Palmer. The attacker then cushioned a lobbed header over the Brighton goalkeeper into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes after the first half, Mykhailo Mudryk suffered a concussion and was replaced by Christopher Nkunku. At the end of the first half, Chelsea had had the more dominant half, with four shots on target, 58% of the possession, and five corner kicks to Brighton’s two.
A More Evenly Matched Second Half
Both teams came out for the second half in fiery fashion. Brighton played dominantly, passing out of their box and trying to break the Chelsea defense down with sleek inter-play.
19 minutes after the restart, Malo Gusto made a trademark bombing run down the right channel before passing the ball into the 6-yard box for the onrushing Christopher Nkunku. Nkunku stabbed the ball into the back of the net to double Chelsea’s lead. He brought out the blue balloon to show his trademark celebration for the first time since joining the London club.
Five minutes later, the London club made a double substitution: Raheem Sterling for Noni Madueke, and Malo Gusto for the club’s returning captain, Reece James. Brighton also made a couple of substitutions, including Danny Welbeck for Buonanotte.
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Reece James Red Card And A Shaky End To The Match
A few minutes to the end of the regular 90 minutes, Joao Pedro clattered into Reece James and the referee awarded Chelsea a free-kick. Frustrated by Pedro’s tackle, James kicked out at Pedro’s trailing leg while the Brighton attacker passed him. The referee didn’t originally see the retaliation, but VAR sent him to the screen. James got a straight red card as a result.
This meant Chelsea would have to finish the game at the Amex stadium with 10 men. The red card also meant Reece James would miss the final game of the season and the first three games of the new season.
Pochettino quickly made a practical substitution, bringing on Thiago Silva to replace Nicolas Jackson, to defend the lead in the game’s dying embers. The substitution paid off as the experienced defender made a few clearances in those last minutes when Brighton ferociously attacked Chelsea’s box.
In the 7th minute of 10 added minutes, Danny Welbeck converted a Joao Pedro Cross to half the deficit to 2-1. Pochettino then took off Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer to be replaced by Lesley Ugochukwu and Cesare Casadei to buy time and see out the game. The game eventually ended 2-1.
With Manchester United winning 3-2 at Old Trafford against Newcastle, Chelsea climbed into 6th position for the first time this season. With only a point from their final game of the season at home to Bournemouth, the London club could make it to the Europa League next season.
About the Author
Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management.
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