Chelsea ratings as Palmer and Nkunku shine but Reece James piles on pressure with silly red card
Chelsea have moved up to sixth-place in the Premier League table with a convincing 2-0 win away at Brighton
The Blues thought they won a penalty just less than 20 minutes in when Facundo Buonanotte slid in and Marc Cucurella went down. However, the referee went over to the pitch side monitor and overturned his initial decision.
The visitors did not have to wait too long, though, before they actually went ahead. Cole Palmer scored once again for the Blues with an incredible header at the near post.
Just after the hour-mark, it was 2-0 to the visitors when Christopher Nkunku slid the ball into the bottom corner. Malo Gusto put the ball on a plate for his compatriot, who made no mistake.
Reece James was sent off late on for a kick out at Joao Pedro but 2-0 is the way it stayed. Below, Bobby Vincent rates the Chelsea players…
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Djordje Petrovic – 6
Not a lot to do, really. He’ll take that, won’t he?
Malo Gusto - 7
Playing in an inverted role like we have seen with Cucurella in recent weeks. He did brilliantly in there and often looked like Chelsea’s most dangerous attacker.
Trevoh Chalobah – 7
Immense back there. Yet again.
Benoit Badiashile – 7
When he’s playing well he is a real Rolls Royce. Calm and composed. Carries on his much-improved form.
Marc Cucurella – 7
Every time he did anything, it incensed Brighton fans. He seemed to thrive off that. The Cucurella show, at times.
Moises Caicedo – 7
See above. Lovely flick round the corner early on - a pure moment of class. That summed his match up.
Conor Gallagher – 6
Great defensive header early on to prevent Brighton going ahead. Defensively brilliant all game but not too involved in an attacking sense.
Noni Madueke – 6
Unfortunate not to score early on with a typical Madueke effort from the right-hand side. Not as involved as he would have liked but a threat on occasions.
Cole Palmer – 8.5
It’s some header. What hasn’t he got in his locker? A beautiful player.
Mykhailo Mudryk –
Quiet. Came off before half-time with what looks like concussion.
Nicolas Jackson –
Had a big chance before half-time - he maybe should have done better. Wasteful sometimes in counter-attacking situations but he holds the ball up so well
Substitutes
Christopher Nkunku – 8.5
Came on in the first-half. Looked a constant threat. He took his goal like someone that has scored plenty recently.
Reece James - 3
Came on at 2-0 to the good. Really silly red card for a petulant kick out at Joao Pedro.
Raheem Sterling - N/A
A bit surprised he didn’t start. But he came on at the same time as James.
Thiago Silva - N/A
Some minutes in his penultimate outing following James' red card.
Lesley Ugochukwu and Cesare Casadei - N/A
Came on deep into stoppage time.
