At a glance

  • Ferdi Kadioglu opens scoring after just three minutes

  • Jack Hinselwood doubles the lead with excellent counter-attack goal

  • Substitute Danny Welbeck makes it 3-0 in injury time

  • Cole Palmer a shock injury absentee with Joao Pedro also missing

  • Chelsea struggle to pose a threat as pressure builds on manager Liam Rosenior

  • PLAYER RATER

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter at the Amex Stadium

Brighton produced a dominant 3-0 win to leapfrog Chelsea in the Premier League, boosting their European hopes while piling further misery on struggling visiting head coach Liam Rosenior.

Goals from Ferdi Kadioglu, Jack Hinshelwood and Danny Welbeck lifted Brighton into sixth place, while Chelsea have now lost five consecutive league matches without scoring for the first time since 1912.

Brighton overwhelmed Chelsea in the opening stages of the match.

Kaoru Mitoma almost replicated his goal at Tottenham last weekend, volleying Pascal Gross' shot first time, only for Robert Sanchez to make the save inside the opening two minutes.

Brighton then scored from the resulting corner when Kadioglu struck a low volley after capitalising on a loose attempted clearance by Jorrel Hato from Gross' delivery in the third minute.

The chances kept coming for the hosts. Jan Paul van Hecke's header was saved, Hinshelwood had an effort cleared off the line after a calamitous wayward pass from Sanchez, while Georginio Rutter fired over when from inside the box.

Chelsea were eventually punished again, as Hinshelwood made amends by sweeping home Brighton's second goal in the 56th minute from Rutter's pass.

Such was the one-way traffic, Chelsea managed just one attempt of any kind in the opening 40 minutes - a speculative, blocked effort from Trevoh Chalobah on the edge of the box. Chants of "we've had a shot" followed from the away supporters after Romeo Lavia fired wide shortly after half-time, before frustration turned towards head coach Rosenior.

There were late attempts from Alejandro Garnacho and fellow substitute Marc Guiu, who both fired wide late on, but Brighton could have scored more in the second half through two saved Kadioglu shots.

And they did get a third when two subsitutes combined down the left, with Maxim de Cuyper feeding Welbeck to fire home his 13th goal of the season into the roof of the net.

It was a memorable night for the in-form Seagulls, who moved above Chelsea into sixth place, while the Blues look increasingly unlikely to qualify for the Champions League and could drop into the bottom half of the table once all fixtures this round have been completed.

Brighton analysis: Seagulls look likely to qualify for Europe again

Brighton 'dominated' in win over Chelsea - Hurzeler

Brighton are the Premier League's most in-form side and are mounting a late push for European qualification.

A fourth win in five meetings with Chelsea across all competitions helped to heighten an already feel-good atmosphere at the Amex Stadium.

It is the latest result in a run that is carrying Fabian Hurzeler's side towards European football. While Champions League qualification remains a remote possibility, a place in the Europa League or Conference League appears a more realistic target.

This sixth win in eight games leaves Brighton top of the form table, supported by a settled and fully fit squad capable of delivering the kind of energetic display seen here.

There was quality in the delivery of the experienced German Gross, sustained threat from full-back positions through Kadioglu, and a defence growing in authority as Van Hecke and Riccardo Boscagli continue to build an impressive partnership.

Brighton's strength in depth was also evident, withDe Cuyper and Welbeck combining off the bench for a late third goal.

The contrast with Chelsea is marked. In seeking to emulate aspects of Brighton's model while compromising their own established identity, the Blues have been left with the worst of both worlds. Brighton, by contrast, continue to double down on theirs - with tangible success.

The Seagulls qualified for Europe for the first time in 2023 and, on current form, look well placed to repeat that achievement and embark on just their second campaign on the continent next season.

Chelsea analysis: Fans have turned on Rosenior

Things need to change after 'unacceptable' defeat - Rosenior

At his former club, where he also began his coaching career, Rosenior was met with chants from his own supporters calling for him to leave for the first time

It marked radical new low point in a bleak run of five consecutive league defeats without a goal for Chelsea - their worst such sequence in more than a century and one that few supporters have witnessed in their lifetime.

Given the club's success over the past 25 years, it is perhaps understandable that patience is thin for a head coach appointed just three months ago from Chelsea's partner club, Strasbourg.

There were early signs that the night might not unfold as Rosenior had hoped. Cucurella's barber leaked news that Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro were unavailable through injury - information the head coach had intended to keep under wraps -before it quickly circulated on social media platform X in the mid-morning.

It was the third team-news leak Rosenior has faced this season and the latest in a series of issues that unfolded throughout the match.

Tactically, his decision to switch to a back five - only the second time Chelsea have done so this season - quickly proved ineffective, forcing a change back to his usual system at half-time.

Such was Chelsea's disarray that they conceded after three minutes following a poor clearance from Hato. They then went on to concede the second-highest expected goals (xG) total after 20 minutes of any Premier League game this season, while failing to register a shot until the 40th minute.

The introduction of Garnacho at the interval brought only marginal improvement before Chelsea were deservedly 2-0 down.

Rosenior cut a lonely figure as Chelsea supporters turned their chants against him, while Brighton fans ironically voiced support for his continued leadership. Matters worsened when Chelsea conceded a late third goal.

They failed to register a shot on target for the first time since February 2025, are enduring their longest run without a clean sheet since the 1996–97 season and, with Kadioglu's volley, have now conceded their joint‑highest number of goals from corners - matching the total from the 1995–96 campaign.

This awful form that began in March has carried into April, leaving Chelsea's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League increasingly remote and even European qualification now in serious doubt.

Player of the match

F. Kadıoğlu
8.53
24 F. Kadıoğlu
8.53
18 D. Welbeck
8.45
13 J. Hinshelwood
8.33
22 K. Mitoma
8.25
30 P. Groß
8.18
6 J. van Hecke
8.09
10 G. Rutter
8.07
21 O. Boscagli
7.98
11 Y. Minteh
7.91
17 C. Baleba
7.80
34 J. Veltman
7.77
1 B. Verbruggen
7.74
27 M. Wieffer
7.61
29 M. De Cuyper
7.52
26 Y. Ayari
7.38
33 M. O'Riley
7.30
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