[Albion] Frank Lampard’s Chelsea vs Brighton & Hove Albion *** Official Match Thread ***

[rogersix]

Down for ages.
Hobbled off and round the pitch, under his own steam.
Was in the celebrations at full time.

so you're saying there's a chance then?

 

[Originunknown]

One of the best performances ever, making Chelsea look very ordinary.

Shame about Evan, he will be gutted to miss Wembley. Naylor reporting he's out along with Joel.

 

[Stat Brother]

Agree with everything being said. Amazing times.

One thing that struck me was that we were prepared to pass into players being more tightly marked, and the lay offs often seemed more "last second". That seemed to commit their players and take them out of the move even more effectively than usual.

Brave, not least because you're more likely to be clattered.

They jumped the shark at one point in the first half.

(I'm probably going to get the exact detail wrong)
Sanchez was wide left of his goal.
Received the ball under pressure.
He passed to Webster, also under pressure, in the middle of the goal 2 yards out.
Webster sent the ball left to where the pressure was - nothing else he could have done.
4 exquisite passes later we're in their 6 yard box...




...and quite clearly didn't have a f**king clue how we got there.

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm slowly getting flashbacks.

Mucho love for second half Dunk, sliding in his penalty area.
Trapping the ball with both feet.
Getting up.
Groß turn.
Starting an attack.


Marvelous.

 

[A1X]

It seriously deserves it's own thread so people don't miss it. I don't want to start it because I don't want to take credit off @A1X .

All I ever wanted was for the people to sing. Please be my guest.

 

[Stat Brother]

i saw them doing that for an hour and a half on the pitch!

i noticed you were there stat, did you notice how long EF was treated for? just wondering if he can celebrate on the pitch after, maybe sub next sunday?

Here's Evan walking off.

In fairness to the boy.
If they tell you you're walking...



... you're fudging well walking.

 

[Eric the meek]

Steel yourselves for some bad news.

We are 10 points above Chelsea, with a vastly superior goal difference, and two games in hand.
This is after Chelsea hollowed out our coaching staff, we replaced Potter with an upgrade, and Potter got sacked by Chelsea 7 months later.

Yesterday, we dominated Lampard's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, thoroughly deserved the win, and Enciso scored the goal of the season. Chelsea are now imploding.

It is what it is. We are where we are. But we are not alone. We must all help each other to deal with it. Together, we will get through this.

 

[B-right-on]

Steel yourselves for some bad news.

We are 10 points above Chelsea, with a vastly superior goal difference, and two games in hand.
This is after Chelsea hollowed out our coaching staff, we replaced Potter with an upgrade, and Potter got sacked by Chelsea 7 months later.

Yesterday, we dominated Lampard's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, thoroughly deserved the win, and Enciso scored the goal of the season. Chelsea are now imploding.

It is what it is. We are where we are. But we are not alone. We must all help each other to deal with it. Together, we will get through this.

Time for the fabled Olive Branch then?

 

[brighton_tom]

Just watched the highlights (again). If it wasn't for some fantastic saves from Kepa it could have been 4 or 5-1. We created some really great attacking moves, which were finished with a well struck on target shot or header, but well saved.

Also a few great saves from Bobby Sanchez.

 

[dazzer6666]

Just watched MOTD.

I wanted to make this point earlier, but now I've seen it again, I want to give a shout for Pascal Gross in our first goal.
He can put a ball on a dinner plate. He made his cross for Welbeck, and he didn't have to move. The ball arrived right on his head.

….and with his left foot.

 

[B-right-on]

One of the best performances ever, making Chelsea look very ordinary.

Shame about Evan, he will be gutted to miss Wembley. Naylor reporting he's out along with Joel.

Here's Evan walking off.

View attachment 159733

In fairness to the boy.
If they tell you you're walking...



... you're fudging well walking.

Naylor just saying what RDZ said after the game.

I've watched the injury back a few times on TV and I'm hoping that it's just a bad twist, a bit painful and sore for a couple of days but with an ice pack and a bit of Physio, he'll be up and ready for next week.

That he was walking unaided after being subbed and after the game makes me hopeful that it's not a bad one at all.

 

[Originunknown]

Naylor just saying what RDZ said after the game.

I've watched the injury back a few times on TV and I'm hoping that it's just a bad twist, a bit painful and sore for a couple of days but with an ice pack and a bit of Physio, he'll be up and ready for next week.

That he was walking unaided after being subbed and after the game makes me hopeful that it's not a bad one at all.

Yes hopefully similar to Caicedo's at Bournemouth. We'll know come the press conference, Roberto seems quite open with injury news and not so guarded with team selection. Even if Evan makes an appearance from the bench it'll be grand.

 

[dazzer6666]

Naylor just saying what RDZ said after the game.

I've watched the injury back a few times on TV and I'm hoping that it's just a bad twist, a bit painful and sore for a couple of days but with an ice pack and a bit of Physio, he'll be up and ready for next week.

That he was walking unaided after being subbed and after the game makes me hopeful that it's not a bad one at all.

My thoughts too. Grade 1 sprain and he’s probably able to play a part - anything worse and he very probably wouldn’t have been walking on the pitch at the end of the game.

 

[Eric the meek]

Naylor just saying what RDZ said after the game.

I've watched the injury back a few times on TV and I'm hoping that it's just a bad twist, a bit painful and sore for a couple of days but with an ice pack and a bit of Physio, he'll be up and ready for next week.

That he was walking unaided after being subbed and after the game makes me hopeful that it's not a bad one at all.

I thought he recovered quite quickly from Fabinho's assault a few weeks ago. Here's hoping.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Was expecting the Gross turn, maybe they were as well

Double bluff

 

[Wozza]

Wounld't normally post an entire match report - it's disrespectful to the author/media co.

But The Guardian butchered Jonathan Wilson's report.

Here's the final version: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/15/chelsea-brighton-premier-league-match-report

But here's the glorious first draft:

Brighton were brilliant. They were faster than Chelsea, stronger than Chelsea, slicker than Chelsea, more coherent than Chelsea and more inventive than Chelsea. They were almost embarrassingly the better side.

As their pursuit of Europa League football goes on, so too does Chelsea’s bewildered misery. That’s 11 defeats in his last 12 games now for Frank Lampard as a manager and seven in his last 10 league games with Chelsea. And now he has to inspire a comeback from 2-0 down against Real Madrid. Good luck.

That it took until the 70th minute for Brighton to take the lead was down to Kepa Arrizabalaga making three outstanding saves, Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso hitting the woodwork, Alexis Mac Allister being deadly only from the penalty spot and Danny Welbeck, with the entire goal to aim at, flashing an admittedly sharp rebound over.

But their excellence did tell in the end with a stunning winner, Enciso wandering through Chelsea’s midfield before pinging a 25-yard strike into the top corner. The Paraguayan is 19 and cost £9.5m from the Asunción club Libertad. Brighton, masters of the cleverly sourced bargain, may have done it again.

Sometimes narratives clang together with a boom of inevitability. Brighton, having hammered Brentford yet only drawn, having been on the wrong end of four key VAR decisions at Tottenham last week, have recently developed a reputation as the unluckiest team in the Premier League.

Conor Gallagher is the most Lampard-like player in the current Chelsea side, so when, a couple of minutes after Ferguson had hit the bar, a shot deflected off Lewis Dunk and looped past Robert Sánchez, it was always going to be from Gallagher.

Decisions continued to go against Brighton with Christian Pulisic mysteriously unpunished for what looked a blatant handball as he chased a bouncing ball with Pervis Estupiñan.

As Roberto De Zerbi plaintively drew squares in the air in his technical area, the Brighton fans chanted: “The Premier League is corrupt.” Normally the paranoia of fans is risibly solipsistic, but it’s easy to understand why Brighton supporters feel aggrieved.

Eventually, though, the pressure will tell even for the most unfortunate side. Chelsea struggled to get through Brighton’s press. Moisés Caicedo was superb at regaining possession. Kaoru Mitoma was brilliant at using it.

Eventually they had their reward. Pascal Groß, shifted to right-back after an injury to Joël Veltman, crossed for Welbeck, on for Ferguson after he suffered an ankle injury, to nod an equaliser.

The changes worked to their advantage and hint at how well-organised Brighton are, but with the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United coming up next week those potential absences are of particular concern.

Given there was no sign the dressing room had turned on Graham Potter – drifted away from him, perhaps, started to harbour vague doubts, maybe, but despised him, no – the only possible explanation for Chelsea parting ways with him when they did was that they believed they had somebody more likely to beat Madrid in the Champions League. And if no less an authority than James Corden believes Frank Lampard to be that manager, who really can argue?

But you do wonder why Lampard has made no attempt to use either of his two league games in charge to prepare for Real Madrid. The 4-3-3 he used against Wolves last week returned, although this was a starting XI featuring only five of the same starters as at Molineux, and only five starters from Wednesday’s tepid defeat at the Bernabéu. Take the pieces, throw them in the air, let them fall where they may.

When Lampard made a quadruple substitution in the 57th minute, it was hard to know whether it was desperation or an exercise in managing minutes before Tuesday’s second leg.

That confusion perhaps in part explained what a shambles this was for Chelsea. But then shambles is the Todd Boehly way. Whatever Lampard’s shortcomings as a manager the situation is, if not impossible, then not far off.

Chelsea are like you’ve bought a 1,000-piece jigsaw only to find there are 2,500 pieces in the box and it’s the wrong picture on the cover. It doesn’t matter if some of the extra pieces are gold-plated or studded with diamonds, it’s still a confusing mess.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I thought he recovered quite quickly from Fabinho's assault a few weeks ago. Here's hoping.

Likewise…..I’m guessing a quick healer……Veltman on the other hand I’m not so sure about

 

[Nobby]

Naylor just saying what RDZ said after the game.

I've watched the injury back a few times on TV and I'm hoping that it's just a bad twist, a bit painful and sore for a couple of days but with an ice pack and a bit of Physio, he'll be up and ready for next week.

That he was walking unaided after being subbed and after the game makes me hopeful that it's not a bad one at all.

He tried to jog behind the goal but was in too much pain.
Let's hope for a Caicedo like recovery.
RDZ saying that Evan and Veltman will be out for a couple of weeks.
If Veltman has done his hamstring then it could be the season and Roberto is trying to play some mind games.
Desperately hope not - Velts has been so important for us.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Agree with everything being said. Amazing times.

One thing that struck me was that we were prepared to pass into players being more tightly marked, and the lay offs often seemed more "last second". That seemed to commit their players and take them out of the move even more effectively than usual.

Brave, not least because you're more likely to be clattered.

But similarly we are like a dog with a bone in getting the ball back. The lead up to the second goal had players losing possession a couple of times but we got the ball back by sheer will and persistence- particularly Solly. We are getting so good. I just wonder which team will be on the end of a real hammering when we convert half our chances in a game.

 

[willalbion]

Wounld't normally post an entire match report - it's disrespectful to the author/media co.

But The Guardian butchered Jonathan Wilson's report.

Here's the final version: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/15/chelsea-brighton-premier-league-match-report

But here's the glorious first draft:

Brighton were brilliant. They were faster than Chelsea, stronger than Chelsea, slicker than Chelsea, more coherent than Chelsea and more inventive than Chelsea. They were almost embarrassingly the better side.

As their pursuit of Europa League football goes on, so too does Chelsea’s bewildered misery. That’s 11 defeats in his last 12 games now for Frank Lampard as a manager and seven in his last 10 league games with Chelsea. And now he has to inspire a comeback from 2-0 down against Real Madrid. Good luck.

That it took until the 70th minute for Brighton to take the lead was down to Kepa Arrizabalaga making three outstanding saves, Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso hitting the woodwork, Alexis Mac Allister being deadly only from the penalty spot and Danny Welbeck, with the entire goal to aim at, flashing an admittedly sharp rebound over.

But their excellence did tell in the end with a stunning winner, Enciso wandering through Chelsea’s midfield before pinging a 25-yard strike into the top corner. The Paraguayan is 19 and cost £9.5m from the Asunción club Libertad. Brighton, masters of the cleverly sourced bargain, may have done it again.

Sometimes narratives clang together with a boom of inevitability. Brighton, having hammered Brentford yet only drawn, having been on the wrong end of four key VAR decisions at Tottenham last week, have recently developed a reputation as the unluckiest team in the Premier League.

Conor Gallagher is the most Lampard-like player in the current Chelsea side, so when, a couple of minutes after Ferguson had hit the bar, a shot deflected off Lewis Dunk and looped past Robert Sánchez, it was always going to be from Gallagher.

Decisions continued to go against Brighton with Christian Pulisic mysteriously unpunished for what looked a blatant handball as he chased a bouncing ball with Pervis Estupiñan.

As Roberto De Zerbi plaintively drew squares in the air in his technical area, the Brighton fans chanted: “The Premier League is corrupt.” Normally the paranoia of fans is risibly solipsistic, but it’s easy to understand why Brighton supporters feel aggrieved.

Eventually, though, the pressure will tell even for the most unfortunate side. Chelsea struggled to get through Brighton’s press. Moisés Caicedo was superb at regaining possession. Kaoru Mitoma was brilliant at using it.

Eventually they had their reward. Pascal Groß, shifted to right-back after an injury to Joël Veltman, crossed for Welbeck, on for Ferguson after he suffered an ankle injury, to nod an equaliser.

The changes worked to their advantage and hint at how well-organised Brighton are, but with the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United coming up next week those potential absences are of particular concern.

Given there was no sign the dressing room had turned on Graham Potter – drifted away from him, perhaps, started to harbour vague doubts, maybe, but despised him, no – the only possible explanation for Chelsea parting ways with him when they did was that they believed they had somebody more likely to beat Madrid in the Champions League. And if no less an authority than James Corden believes Frank Lampard to be that manager, who really can argue?

But you do wonder why Lampard has made no attempt to use either of his two league games in charge to prepare for Real Madrid. The 4-3-3 he used against Wolves last week returned, although this was a starting XI featuring only five of the same starters as at Molineux, and only five starters from Wednesday’s tepid defeat at the Bernabéu. Take the pieces, throw them in the air, let them fall where they may.

When Lampard made a quadruple substitution in the 57th minute, it was hard to know whether it was desperation or an exercise in managing minutes before Tuesday’s second leg.

That confusion perhaps in part explained what a shambles this was for Chelsea. But then shambles is the Todd Boehly way. Whatever Lampard’s shortcomings as a manager the situation is, if not impossible, then not far off.

Chelsea are like you’ve bought a 1,000-piece jigsaw only to find there are 2,500 pieces in the box and it’s the wrong picture on the cover. It doesn’t matter if some of the extra pieces are gold-plated or studded with diamonds, it’s still a confusing mess.

Wilson is a fan, (of Sunderland) compare this report to John Brewin’s of the Spurs game - which was mealy mouthed at best (I’m still bitter)