There were quite a few firsts at the AMEX. It was Graham Potter's first defeat in charge of Chelsea. It was Roberto De Zerbi's first win in charge of Brighton. It was Brighton's first win over Chelsea in the league. It was Trevoh Chalobah's first defeat when starting as a Chelsea player.
Though all that said, there was a tinge of familiarity about this particular Chelsea collapse.
As Leandro Trossard put in the first, then Ruben Loftus-Cheek added to the deficit by putting through his own net, only for his academy peer Chalobah to do the same, you could flip back through the disasters on the road across the past five years.
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The capitulation at Vicarage Road that rubber-stamped Antonio Conte's fate in February 2018 shared the same final scoreline. The 4-0 drubbing at Bournemouth helped turned supporters sour on Sarriball in January 2019. The emphatic 3-0 humbling at Bramall Lane under Frank Lampard, or the pain endured earlier this season at Elland Road as the mood turned against Tuchel. We have been here before, and that is the slightly scary thing on Halloween weekend.
Graham Potter is not alone in suffering such a heavy defeat to break an unbeaten record since taking charge. Tuchel faced that reality in the 5-2 at home to an almost relegated West Brom in April of 2021. And all of this undermines the quality of Brighton, much of which was built by Potter. A progressive, hungry, energetic team recently went to Anfield and put three past Liverpool.
This defeat does not need to ring the alarm bells of doom. Another way to reflect on afternoons like these are to ponder why they have become familiar with different players and different coaches.
And it is not only similar to recent years, but it is also relevant to point out that Chelsea could have suffered this type of battering in any of their last three games. They were outplayed at Aston Villa, only saved by the heroics of Kepa Arrizabalaga. It was similar at Brentford and then against Manchester United. Eventually, if Chelsea did not sharpen up, they would be caught out by a better team. Brighton was that team.
The narrative before this game was extremely high. After taking their head coach, a coaching team, a club legend and likely, a head of recruitment, Brighton were maybe due this receipt by the footballing gods. The shockingly unfamiliar mistakes made by Thiago Silva within the opening exchanges probably signalled doom.
"I understand that whenever you do something, and it doesn't work, you look a bit of a fool," Potter admitted after. "That is how it is. I have to accept that, deal with that, do better, and I'll learn. That's the process."
If we are going with the Horror vibe, this was a full-on Michael Myers slasher than a psychological terror. Chelsea's risky formation was torn to shreds, self-inflicted wounds only heightened the embarrassment, and recently acquired signings for whom much hope was attached too have faded — I'm looking at you, Raheem.
The feeling of repetition will sink in as the reality of another slog for Champions League qualification looks to be top of the menu again, although if we are being honest, did anyone expect anything higher with such turmoil in 2022?
Potter not only needs investment in time, but he also needs investment in fundamentally flawed areas of a squad that, baffling, still were not addressed in what was a record-breaking summer spend.
Saturday at the Amex was a horror show, but this horror brought little new to a genre that is becoming worn out.
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