Chelsea 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 3
Joao Pedro scored at both ends as Brighton and Hove Albion battled their way back into contention after going three goals down in the first 32 minutes.
It meant that Chelsea continued their winning start under Xabi Alonso in a pulsating match at Stamford Bridge where Brighton piled on the pressure with an impressive second-half fightback.
Fans were treated to a display of electrifying attacking football and the hosts could have had the game wrapped up after scoring their first three goals inside half an hour.
The goals came from Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro but the Blues looked less sure after the break as Brighton refused to give up and the hosts’ defence proved less than watertight.
Malick Yalcouye crashed in his first goal for Brighton, beating goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez on his debut, then an own goal by Pedro left Chelsea teetering on the brink of an embarrassing collapse.
The Blues turned to Cole Palmer – not for the first time – and he bulldozed through midfield to lash in Chelsea’s fourth, putting the game out of Brighton’s reach with a 74th-minute strike.
Even then Brighton refused to give up and, deep in stoppage time, Pascal Gross found the time and space to nod in an easy consolation goal.
There was no place in the match-day squad for Enzo Fernandez, whose departure before the transfer deadline on Tuesday, looks increasingly likely.
And Robert Sanchez was also absent after his errors in the win over Fulham which may prove to have been his last match for Chelsea with the arrival of Martinez.
The hosts made a fast start. In the fourth minute, Pedro flicked on Neto’s corner. Mats Wieffer stopped the ball on the line but was prevented from clearing it by Bart Verbruggen, whose clumsy swipe presented Lavia with the opening goal.
After 14 minutes it was 2-0. Morgan Rogers skimmed around Luka Vuskovic and his cutback found Neto arriving to beat Ferdi Kadioglu to the ball and finish.
Pedro was guilty of an awful miss after 25 minutes but, just after the half-hour mark, he managed to make up for it.
Rogers played a beautiful ball from deep inside his own half to release Jorrel Hato, who charged down the left, beating Wieffer and squaring for Pedro to finish into the corner.
Brighton cut the deficit when Charalampos “Babis” Kostoulas had an effort well saved by Martinez and Yalcouye lashed the rebound against a post and in. It is now 18 league matches since Chelsea last kept a clean sheet.
Brighton came out fighting at the start of the second half. They should have pulled to within a goal of Chelsea 10 minutes after the break. Diego Gomez was given a free header inside the six-yard box but planted the ball wide.
The Seagulls kept on coming. Just after the hour, Pedro stuck out a foot and deflected a cross from Gross into his own goal.
The home side needed something to settle their nerves and Palmer provided it. He picked up the ball midway inside Brighton’s half and ran hard and direct straight through the midfield.
Then he opened up his body and sent a magnificent curling finish past Verbruggen.
The goal in stoppage time, a header from Gross, came too late for Fabian Hürzeler’s side.
Brighton slip to eighth in the table, with three points from two games, while Chelsea go third, with six points.
Next up, Albion host Leeds United at the Amex on Saturday (6 September), kicking off at 3pm.
