Joe is a feature writer who has been working in sports media for a year.
Since graduating from UCFB Etihad Campus in 2023, where he studied multimedia sports journalism, Joe spent 18 months as a freelance social media assistant for Statman Dave.
His experience in football writing includes writing for Utd District and Attacking Football. Joe also hosts a podcast and does freelance writing within cricket.
For the second successive game in the Premier League, Chelsea have been defeated. After last week’s defeat against Manchester United, Enzo Maresca’s side lost 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to South Coast outfit Brighton and Hove Albion.
The first half went the way of the home side. After plenty of early pressure, the Blues finally found the back of the net. Enzo Fernandes was the man to break the deadlock, firing his side into the lead with a header from inside the six-yard box.
However, things started to go wrong for Chelsea in the second half. Just eight minutes into the second 45 minutes, Trevoh Chalobah saw red. He was sent off for the denial of a goalscoring opportunity after he brought down Brighton attacker Diego Gomez.
Down to ten men for the second time in as many games in the top flight, the Blues needed to try and hold onto their lead. Unfortunately for Maresca’s side, they failed to do that. It was Danny Welbeck who equalised, also scoring a header from close range.
Maxim De Cuyper fired the Seagulls ahead in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, yet again heading home from inside the six-yard box. To cap it off, Welbeck slotted home from close range in the 100th minute.
It was a calamitous collapse from the Blues, with Chalobah one of the men who put in a disappointing performance.
Why Chalobah was one of Chelsea’s worst performers
Normally one of Chelsea’s most consistent players, it was a day to forget for centre-back Chalobah. The England international made a costly mistake, which led to his side being reduced to ten men once again.
In terms of the foul, it was not great defending from Chalobah. The Cobham academy graduate brought down Gomez on the edge of the penalty box, which, after a review by the VAR officials, was deemed to be a denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.
What is most frustrating is the fact that the centre-back had played well up until his sending off. Chalobah had once again shown great quality on the ball and had a 92% passing accuracy, completing 36 out of 39 attempted passes.
Yet, the red card put his side in trouble. Football London journalist Bobby Vincent gave the defender a 3/10 rating for his efforts, and admitted that it was a ‘clear foul’ by the Blues number 23.
However, the defender is not solely to blame for the defeat. There was another Chelsea player who performed below the level you might expect.
The Chelsea player who was as bad as Chalobah
Overall, Chelsea’s afternoon at Stamford Bridge was one to forget. Despite the control they had in the first half, largely thanks to Fernandez’s header, the Blues let things slip, and, from the 53rd minute, always had an uphill battle to hold onto their lead.
Well, another player who struggled against the Seagulls was 21-year-old Brazil international Andrey Santos. The former Strasbourg loanee was making his first start in the Premier League, but played a part in the red card.
Unfortunately, it was Santos’ poor pass back to Chalobah, which meant the England star was chasing Gomez back towards his own goal. Santos, under pressure, looked to play the ball back in the direction of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, but misplaced it and put Gomez in on goal, putting Chalobah in a position where he could only foul the attacker.
Like the Chelsea number 23, it was not the worst performance overall from the Brazilian wonderkid. He completed 94% of his passes, created one chance, and won 100% of both his duels and tackles.
Santos key stats vs. Brighton
Stat
Number
Touches
22
Pass accuracy
94%
Passes completed
16/17
Ground duels won
2/2
Tackles won
2/2
Number of times ball lost
2
Key passes
1
Stats from Sofascore
Vincent highlighted that good performance early on from Santos. Although he gave him a rating of 4/10 for his efforts, he said he “played well in the first half”, but did point out the “costly mistake” he made for the red card.
That moment showed his inexperience and perhaps suggests he is not ready to start in the top flight. There is no doubt that Santos is a wonderful talent, but perhaps the intensity of the Premier League got to him. Over time, he will surely become a key player at Stamford Bridge, but that may not be just yet.
