Chelsea's FA Cup campaign came to an end in round four after falling 1–2 against Brighton, with a lackluster performance at Amex Stadium.
The visitors looked lively to begin the game and tilted the field in their favor. Five minutes past the starting whistle, Chelsea found the opener through a calamitous mistake from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. The Dutch keeper fielded a miss-hit cross by Cole Palmer terribly and pushed it into his own net. Brighton equalized less than ten minutes later when Georginio Rutter headed home a Joel Veltman cross.
Kaoru Mitoma fired Brighton in front in the 57th minute, much to the displeasure of Chelsea players that hounded match referee Jarred Gillett, for not blowing the whistle for an apparent hand-ball in the goal's build-up. VAR isn't available in the FA Cup until round 5, so Mitoma's cool finish couldn't be disallowed.
Brighton's early second half goal was enough for them to see out the game. It was a lethargic attacking performance from Chelsea, as they looked incapable of opening up the same defense that let Nottingham Forest put seven past them a week ago.
Enzo Maresca must be alarmed by his team's performance. Exiting the FA Cup in round four is a failure, but the most worrying thing is there are still four months to go in the season and Chelsea look lost in the final third, with Cole Palmer looking like the only player capable to make things happen near the opposition's box.
Maresca has a week to prepare a different strategy before Chelsea visit Brighton once again, this time in the Premier League.
Player ratings from the night below.
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Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Brighton (4-2-3-1)
Ratings Provided by FotMob
Player of the Match: Georginio Rutter (Brighton)
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brighton 2-1 Chelsea: Player Ratings as Blues Eliminated From FA Cup.
