Chelsea 4-3 Brighton: Mauricio Pochettino’s side come from behind to put four past the Seagulls in seven-goal thriller, as Nicolas Jackson nets his first goal for the London side

Mauricio Pochettino claimed his second win as the new Chelsea manager after his side came from a goal down to defeat Brighton 4-2 in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. 

Danny Welbeck put the Seagulls ahead after just 13 minutes, rifling the ball into the back of the net on the half-volley, after combining in a slick move with Kaoru Mitoma and former Chelsea star Billy Gilmour. 

Roberto De Zerbi had left Moises Caicedo out of his squad for the match after having told the Blues this week to stay away from their prized midfielder, amid their growing attempts to sign the £100million rated star.

Despite going down a goal down early on, the Blues would recover shortly after with new signing Christopher Nkunku netting his second goal in two matches, flicking the ball into the net with a cute touch after the Blues worked the ball into the Brighton penalty area in a very smart move. 

With the scores level at half-time, both sides would miss several opportunities to take the lead before the south coast side side went down to ten men. 

In a moment of recklessness, Jan paul van Hecke had stepped in to make a robust challenge Cesare Casadei, just moments after receiving his first booking and was given his marching orders by referee Robert Jones. 

The Blues would take advantage of their additional numbers moments after, with Mykhailo Mudryk belting in a simply sensational half-volley past the goalkeeper from outside the penalty area. 

Connor Gallagher would add to the scores on the 72nd minute, before new signing Nicolas Jackson would break free from the Brighton defence to score his first goal in a blue shirt to make it 4-3.

The sell-out crowd inside the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia were certainly treated to a thrilling game of football, with the Ukrainian forward combining in a very slick one-two move with Jackson to add to the scores.

While Chelsea looked in control, De Zerbi’s side had other ideas with Brighton target, Levi Colwill, conceding a penalty before Joao Pedro converted from the spot. 

And just as things seemed to be winding down, Pedro would produce a winding run along the left flank of the goal before finding Deniz Undav in the middle of the penalty area. The German would make no mistake with his shot, firing the ball into the right corner of the goal in the 89th minute. 

Chelsea would ultimately go on to claim their second win of their pre-season campaign, holding out to Brighton’s late advances. 

It was Pochettino’s second win in charge of the club and after the match insisted that while he was unhappy with the amount of goals his side conceded, he has many positives to take away from the game. 

‘We are happy for the fans,’ he said. ‘Never happy when conceding goals, but it’s normal nearly three weeks into pre-season. I am happy and saw many positive things.’

De Zerbi’s side will now take on Brentford on Wednesday with Pochettino’s side set to take on Newcastle the day after.  

More to follow…