Chelsea defeated Brighton 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to go to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. Nicolas Jackson scored the game’s only goal.
After a rocky start in the Premier League, the victory helped relieve some of the strain on Mauricio Pochettino. Their advancement to the round of 16 of the competition was also secured early in the second half.
Jackson’s goal, only his second since joining Chelsea in the summer, was also a crucial one. The championship team Blackburn, will now be their opponent in the next round.
Ben Chilwell’s forced exit late in the game and subsequent diagnosis of a probable hamstring injury by Pochettino put a sting in the tail of what had otherwise been a successful night for Chelsea.Brighton will have been disappointed with the result, especially after blowing two excellent opportunities in the first half. However, Roberto De Zerbi and his team’s early elimination might have actually been a blessing in disguise given that they also had to contend with the Europa League this season in addition to their impressive start in the league.
Robert Sanchez switched from Brighton to Chelsea in the summer, but in the first half, you might have mistaken him for still being an employee of the latter.
His careless departure afforded Brighton glorious opportunities on two separate occasions. Initially, he passed the ball directly to Joao Pedro, who dinked the shot from the edge of the box onto the crossbar.
He then passed the ball to Moises Caicedo, another former Seagull, in an unfortunate situation, sparing the midfielder only because Ansu Fati wasn’t quick enough to take advantage.