[Photo courtesy of CFC]
Mauricio Pochettino secured his second victory as the newly appointed Chelsea manager as his team rallied from a goal down to beat Brighton 4-3 in a pre-season friendly last Saturday. The Seagulls took the lead early on through Danny Welbeck, who skillfully volleyed the ball home after an impressive collaboration involving Kaoru Mitoma and former Chelsea star Billy Gilmour.
However, Chelsea quickly bounced back, and their recent signing Christopher Nkunku scored his second goal of the pre-season campaign with a delicate touch, guiding the ball into the net after a clever buildup play in the Brighton penalty area.
At half-time, the score was level, and both teams missed several opportunities to take the lead until Roberto De Zerbi’s side was reduced to ten men. Jan Paul van Hecke had already received a yellow card but made an ill-judged challenge against Cesare Casadei, resulting in a second yellow card and his dismissal from the game.
Seizing the advantage of having an extra player, Chelsea capitalized on the situation, and Mykhailo Mudryk struck an impressive half-volley from the edge of the box to put his team in front.
Connor Gallagher extended Chelsea’s lead on the 72nd minute, and then their new signing Nicolas Jackson broke free from Brighton’s defense to score his debut goal for the London side, making it 4-1 in favor of Chelsea.
And just as things seemed to be winding down, Pedro would convert a spot kick to reduce the the deficit before a winding run along the left flank to find Deniz Undav in the middle of the penalty area. The German would make no mistake with his shot, firing the ball into the right corner to make the score 4-3