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It’s only preseaoson, but Chelsea fans could be forgiven for possibly sewing seeds of hope as the new Premier League season draws closer.

Following a 5-0 demolition of Welsh minnows Wrexham a few days prior, Chelsea picked a strong Brighton & Hove Albion side apart to collect a 4-3 victory from Philadelphia in the Premier League Summer Series.

While Brighton were up to the task in the first half, with the score level at 1-1 at the break thanks to goals from Danny Welbeck and Christopher Nkunku, Chelsea snatched hold of the match after the break and put themselves well in front. It was aided by a red card on the hour mark to Brighton defender Jan Paul van Heck who picked up his second yellow and left the Seagulls a man down for a third of the match.

Once they had the advantage, Chelsea’s deeper squad took charge. Mykhaylo Mudryk put the Blues in front shortly after the van Heck red, while Conor Gallagher and Nico Jackson added two more. Brighton got a pair of late consolation goals from Joao Pedro and Denis Undav, with the former impressing on his debut for the club, but it wasn’t enough. Brighton’s late surge could largely be chalked up to the disjointed nature of friendlies doing much to nullify Chelsea’s man advantage as the substitutions mounted.

Mudryk and Jackson were the most impressive Blues players, while Cesare Casadei was also bright off the bench and Ben Chilwell was strong early. Brighton will be buoyed by Pedro’s star performance late despite the defeat.

Starting lineups:

Chelsea (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Kepa (GK) — 34. Gusto, 37. Colwill (Hall, 82′), 6. Silva (Chalobah, 46′), 21. Chilwell (Cucurella, 46′) — 39. Santos (Fernandez, 63′), 30. Chukwuemeka (Casadei, 46′), 23. Gallagher — 17. Sterling (Angelo, 63′), 45. Nkunku (Jackson, 63′), 38. Maatsen (Mudryk, 46′).

Brighton (4-2-3-1, right to left): 23. Steele (GK — Verbruggen, 46′) — 41. Hinshelwood, 29. Van Hecke (red card, 60′), 4. Webster (Ayari, 53′), 13. Gross (Weir, 66′) — 8. Dahoud (Veltman, 46′), 27. Gilmour (Alzate, 53′) — 7. March (Undav, 46′), 14. Lallana (Adingra, 46′), 22. Mitoma (Enciso, 53′)  — 18. Welbeck (Pedro, 53′).

Chelsea vs Brighton updates, highlights from USA preseason match

FULLTIME: Chelsea 4-3 Brighton

Six minutes of added time come and go without event, and the two managers share a smile and huge on the pitch at the full-time whistle. Chelsea come away with the win in a thrilling match, with multiple positive performances to take home from Philadelphia.

The Seagulls gave it a real go at the end despite their disadvantage, but couldn’t find the equalizer, and on the whole deserved their defeat. Still, there are positives to take from the match for Brighton, as playing 30 minutes a man down in preseason surely isn’t what Roberto De Zerbi had in mind for today.

Chelsea vs Brighton: Second Half:

GOAL! BRIGHTON! Well well, Brighton make the most of every attack, and here they have pulled back within one! Joao Pedro is again in the middle of the move, as his dizzying dance on the ball feeds an open Denis Undav for the finish in front of goal. Kepa had no chance!

Six minutes of added time is shown, and could there be time for an unlikely equalizer?

Levi Colwill is withdrawn in favor of Lewis Hall. A disappointing finish to the match for Colwill, who looked to be cramping up soon after giving away the penalty. Might have just run out of gas. Marc Cucurella moves over to centre-back.

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