Chelsea 2-0 Brighton: Three reasons why the Blues beat Graham Potter's side | Premier League 2019-20
A couple of goals from Jorginho and Willian after the break guided Chelsea to their first home league win under Frank Lampard. The victory against Brighton and Hove Albion also sealed a first clean sheet for the Blues, who have already conceded 13 goals thus far.
They began the game at a frenetic pace but couldn't quite break the deadlock despite a slew of chances going their way. Marcos Alonso, Pedro, Tammy Abraham and Ross Barkley all came close to opening the scoring but the hosts headed into the break as the more concerned side.
The above players should really have put the result to bed within the opening 45 minutes, especially because Chelsea have struggled to translate moments into three points so far in all competitions.
However, a solid second half display that saw a couple of goals from their end, aided the Blues to a much-needed victory that, for the time being, takes them to sixth spot on the Premier League ladder.
It was indeed, an all-round performance from Frank Lampard's men, but there were a few substantial reasons that led to the comprehensive win. On that note, let's breakdown the major factors behind Chelsea's win over Brighton.
#3 Lampard's substitutions
Frank Lampard's decision to go with Barkley, who had just played 90 minutes against Grimsby Town in midweek, didn't go too well with the faithful. Further, he started both Willian and Pedro ahead of Christian Pulisic.
However, now with the difficult away fixture at LOSC Lille in sight, Lampard probably made the right move in not starting a few of his preferred first-team stars.
And his substitutions this afternoon were simply bang on. For starters, he muscled Callum Hudson-Odoi in for the hard working Pedro just after the hour mark. The youngster rounded off his first PL appearance since April with an assist, but there was a lot more to his performance.
Hudson-Odoi looked sharp, ready and decisive with his touch and dribbling. The way he tactically carved open spaces to pick out Willian down the far side was spectacular.
Mateo Kovacic injected smoothness in passing and a sense of fluency at the expense of Barkley, who should not only have scored, but also picked passes earlier.
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