Chelsea 4-3 Brighton: Palmer settles seven-goal thriller after Blues survive comeback

Chelsea survived a furious Brighton comeback to win 4-3 at Stamford Bridge, with João Pedro at the centre of a chaotic afternoon before Cole Palmer produced the goal that ultimately protected Xabi Alonso’s perfect Premier League start.

Chelsea appeared to have killed the contest inside 31 minutes.

Roméo Lavia opened the scoring after only three minutes, reacting quickest after João Pedro’s header caused confusion inside the Brighton penalty area.

João Pedro then helped create the second. His pass released Morgan Rogers down the left, and the England international squared for Pedro Neto to finish in the 13th minute.

The former Brighton striker completed Chelsea’s dominant opening phase himself.

Jorrel Hato drove forward on the counter and found João Pedro arriving inside the area, where the Brazilian created space before finishing to make it 3-0 after 31 minutes.

At that stage, Brighton were struggling to contain Chelsea’s movement between the lines and the speed with which Alonso’s side attacked once possession changed hands.

The visitors needed a response before half-time and found one four minutes later.

Emiliano Martínez, making his Chelsea debut only hours after his transfer from Aston Villa was formally announced, made the initial save before Malick Yalcouyé drove the rebound in off the post.

That goal changed the shape of the contest.

Brighton played with considerably greater aggression after the break and reduced the deficit to one in the 63rd minute when Pascal Groß’s delivery was inadvertently turned into his own net by João Pedro.

The score was suddenly 3-2 and a game Chelsea had appeared to control completely had become unstable.

Palmer restored breathing space 11 minutes later.

The Chelsea forward carried the ball towards the edge of the area before striking powerfully from distance to beat the goalkeeper and make it 4-2.

It proved decisive.

Brighton refused to disappear and Groß headed in from a loose ball in the final minute to create one last period of pressure, but Chelsea held on for a second league victory in as many matches under Alonso.

The seven-goal scoreline reflected the attacking quality on display, but it also exposed defensive vulnerabilities in a Chelsea side that had been in complete control during the first half.

João Pedro encapsulated the volatility of the afternoon.

He influenced the opening two goals, scored Chelsea’s third and then inadvertently gave Brighton the route back into the contest with his own goal after half-time.

Palmer, meanwhile, provided the intervention Chelsea needed when their grip on the match was slipping.

The result leaves Chelsea on six points from their opening two Premier League games following last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Fulham.

Brighton, who arrived at Stamford Bridge after successive 4-0 wins in league and European competition, suffered their first defeat of the season but showed enough in the second half to turn what had looked like a rout into a genuine contest.

Chelsea’s next league match is against Arsenal, where Alonso will take a perfect record into a considerably different test. Brighton return home to face Leeds.