Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has urged his team to stop “giving away presents” after they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Brighton in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge. The loss marked their second game in a row where they received a red card, severely impacting their performance.
Chelsea took the lead through Enzo Fernandez’s first-half header. However, Trevoh Chalobah was dismissed following a poor tackle from behind on Brighton’s Diego Gomez, denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. This left Chelsea to improvise for most of the second half while down to ten men.
Brighton capitalized on their numerical advantage late in the game. Substitute Maxim De Cuypers stunned the home crowd with a headed goal at the start of 11 minutes of added time. Unmarked, De Cuypers nodded the ball home after Mats Weiffer cleverly redirected Yasin Ayari’s deep cross back into the box.
Fellow substitute Danny Welbeck then sealed the victory with a second goal, finishing off Chelsea’s resistance.
Just like their recent defeat at Old Trafford, when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was sent off early, Chelsea struggled to adapt and reorganize under pressure. Once again, Maresca was left searching for answers as his team unraveled after going down to ten men.
Brighton had earlier fought back to equalize when Welbeck headed in from Yankuba Minteh’s cross, 13 minutes from time, swinging the momentum decisively.
Speaking after the match, Maresca was clear about the team’s mistakes. “The message in the dressing room was clear. Against any team in the Premier League, you cannot continue to give away presents. We are giving away presents,” he said.
He described the red card as a “big mistake” that changed the entire dynamic of the game. Chelsea had started excellently and deserved their 24th-minute lead. Moises Caicedo’s pass found Reece James, whose cross arced perfectly for Fernandez to nod home at the far post.
But the dismissal of Chalobah altered everything. A dreadful pass from Andrey Santos exposed Chalobah as the last man against Gomez’s advance. His hopeless challenge from behind resulted in a prolonged VAR review and a red card.
“It’s a tough one because we were in control of the game,” Maresca reflected. “We scored one, we could have scored more. We had so many shots in the first half, 70 percent possession — everything was fine. Then suddenly, because of our mistake with the red card, the plan completely changed. We played like two different teams in the first half and after the red card.
“For sure, you cannot continue to make mistakes. They are big mistakes, game-changing — red cards against United and today.”
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, who has now beaten Chelsea three times in a row, praised his team’s resilience. “They dominated us until the goal,” he said. “Then we were much better in possession. After the goal, I had quite a good feeling.
“Red cards always help, but a numerical advantage doesn’t always mean an advantage on the pitch. Sometimes it gets harder. But the team stayed calm. To have the setback and come back like this is impressive. It should give energy and create a good atmosphere.”
https://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/enzo-maresca-urges-chelsea-to-stop-giving-away-presents-after-brighton-defeat-1811963.html
