Chelsea lost to Brighton for the second time seven days, this time 0–3 in the Premier League with the team looking flat in all areas.
The Blues started on the front foot, showing a much better version of themselves in the opening 15 minutes of the match. However, it was short-lived. It didn't take long for Chelsea's injury crisis in attack to worse as Noni Madueke was forced to exit the game 20 minutes in, grabbing at his left leg.
Kaurou Mitoma payed homage to Dennis Bergkamp with an ridiculous first-touch, got away from Trevoh Chalobah and fired Brighton in front just seven minutes later with one of the goals of the season. Then, Yankuba Minteh doubled the hosts' lead in the 38th minute. Chelsea went into halftime down two goals for the first time in the Enzo Maresca era.
Things didn't improve for Chelsea in the second half. Minteh secured his brace in the 63rd minute to further bury the visitors.
Maresca appeared to wave the white flag by taking out players like Moisés Caicedo after Brighton's third. For the second week in a row, Chelsea looked inferior to Brighton, losing their two-game series at Amex Stadium with a combined score of 1–5.
Chelsea received little love from their traveling fans on Valentine's Day, with chants of displeasure echoing from the away end in the second half. The Blues must figure out how to snap out of their 2025 funk in the Premier League—their Champions League hopes depend on it.
Player ratings from the game below.
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Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Brighton (4-2-3-1)
Player of the Match: Yankuba Minteh (Brighton)
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Brighton 3-0 Chelsea: Player Ratings From a Nightmare Night for the Blues.
