Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, was humiliated upon his return to Brighton, when his former team shocked him by defeating them 4-1 on Saturday, October 29, 2022.
Potter had led the Blues for nine games without a loss since leaving Brighton.
However, Brighton derailed the Chelsea manager’s first get-together with the Seagulls as their new manager Roberto De Zerbi earned his first victory since taking over for Potter.
Leandro Trossard‘s early goal gave Brighton a dominating lead by halftime, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah added more agony for Potter.
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After the break, Kai Havertz restored parity, but Pascal Gross’s late goal added insult to Potter’s injury.
Potter endured humorous, if unrealistic, shouts of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from the Brighton supporters during his side’s disastrous performance. He was jeered as soon as he got off the Chelsea team van.
For Potter, it was a forgettable afternoon as his team fell to sixth position and currently trails league leaders Manchester City by eight points.
Chelsea appeared listless from the outset of their first loss to Brighton since 1933, despite having just qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League with a victory at Salzburg during the previous week.
When Brighton took the lead in the fifth minute, Chelsea captain Thiago Silva had already twice been forced to head off his own goal-line, first to prevent Trossard and then Pervis Estupinan.
On his complete Premier League debut, Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma earned the assist by finding Trossard, who beat Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to score his sixth goal of the year. With only 14 minutes remaining, Albion extended their lead.
With all the circumstances surrounding it, this particular game seemed to be just what Brighton needed after five games without a victory under Potter’s successor De Zerbi.
In particular, the first half, when they effectively settled this game, their unrelenting performance for the majority of the 90 minutes, does not do it honour.
In fact, Brighton played with the confidence and fearlessness that Potter is credited with fostering in them during his tenure as manager at the Amex as they took the game to Chelsea from the start.
Brighton quickly jumped out to a three goal lead by halftime thanks to Chelsea’s terrible defensive performance.
Although Chelsea got back into the game thanks to Potter’s halftime adjustments, the most of the damage had already been done.
De Zerbi’s reign finally gained momentum, and Brighton’s 100th and first-ever league victories against Chelsea served as a statement victory to kick off the process.
After a nine-game unbeaten start to his Chelsea reign, Potter was forced to reflect on his first loss at his previous club, which is perhaps the last place he would have wanted to experience it.
His wounds would have been made worse by the humiliating aspect of the game, particularly the first half when Chelsea was tactically outwitted, outmatched, and defeated.
Even though Chelsea dominated for the majority of the final 25 minutes, Gross scored on the rebound after Julio Enciso was denied by backup goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to seal Chelsea’s humiliation.
