Match Review: Brighton 1-1 Chelsea

Brighton 1-1 Chelsea. For Graham Potter and Frank Lampard, it was an afternoon to see where their respective sides are with the 2020-21 Premier League season just two weeks away.

For the rest of us, proceedings at the Amex represented a first look at what attending live sporting events could entail for the foreseeable future.

It was football, but not as we know it. There were photo ID checks, hand sanitiser stations everywhere, masks being worn, three seats left between supporters and 27,500 empty spaces.

At first, it felt a little weird. And then Brighton conceded after just four minutes and it was like nothing had changed. You wait five months to watch your team play live, and then they go 1-0 down inside of 240 seconds. Classic Albion.

The overwhelming feeling among those in attendance is that off-the-pitch, the day went about as well as it could. The club had clearly put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes, supporters in turn followed all the procedures and the result was an experience which felt safer than going to the supermarket.

Whether that translates when crowds are upped beyond 8% of capacity remains to be seen. This though was a positive first step on the path to getting fans back into football stadiums and the Albion deserve a lot of praise for the way in which they pulled it off.

There was even an atmosphere of sorts inside the Amex. “Can you hear the Chelsea sing” got a predictable airing due to the fact that away supporters were not allowed to attend.

The pre-game chorus of Good Old Sussex By The Sea was sung with particular gusto and the roar that greeted Pascal Gross’ equaliser was remarkable given the limited capacity.

It was an afternoon that not only showed how fans can return to football safely, but it also dispelled the notion that the acoustics of the Amex prevent it being loud. If 2,5000 people can create an atmosphere inside the stadium, then why can’t 30,000?

The club were clearly appreciative of the effort. Potter thanked the fans for coming afterwards via an oversized microphone which made him initially look like he was auditioning for the X Factor.

There was a lap of the pitch from the players afterwards too, who looked resplendent in the beautiful new yellow away kit. For the first time since Nike took over as the Albion’s supplier in 2014, we have two kits which you could actually justify spending £60 on.

The yellow away shirt wasn’t the only new thing on show. We got our first glimpses of summer signings Adam Lallana and Joel Veltman. Ben White also started, wearing the number three shirt.

Whoever is behind that decision deserves a medal; the #FreeBenWhite hashtag which The Leeds United fans had trending at number one because Brighton would not accept their £25 million bid for the player has now become #3BenWhite. It is a superb piece of trolling on behalf of the Albion.

White began the game on the right hand side of a back three with Lewis Dunk through the middle and Adam Webster on the left. He endured a bit of a shaky start as Chelsea took their early lead.

That serves as an important reminder to everyone getting carried away with White’s potential that however good he has looked in the Championship, there is a real difference between marking strikers from Barnsley and Luton Town to dealing with the likes of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.

Once Brighton settled down, White settled down. Cast aside that horror start and the Albion were relatively comfortable against a Blues side who look an improvement on last season’s version. That makes Brighton drawing 1-1 with Chelsea a good result, even if it is only a friendly.

Ziyech and Werner were both involved in Chelsea’s opener. The £33 million Moroccan found Callum Hudson-Odoi who nodded the ball to the £45 million German to finish through the legs of Maty Ryan.

Based on what we saw, the Blues’ new look strike force will cause plenty of problems for Premier League defences in the coming campaign.

Dunk, Wesbter and White dealing with them well is a promising sign from a defensive point of view. They were ably assisted by Solly March at left wing back and Joel Veltman on the right, who did a decent job given that he was being played out-of-position.

Going forward, the Albion were a non-entity in the first half. Yves Bissouma was his normal busy self in the middle of the park but neither Lallana nor Steve Alzate could find a way to bring Neal Maupay or Leandro Trossard into the game.

Kepa Arrizabalaga did not have a save to make before he was replaced at the interval, a far cry from his last visit to the Amex on New Year’s Day when Brighton peppered the Chelsea goal before Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored that stunning overhead kick with 10 minutes remaining to earn a 1-1 draw.

It was a different story in the second half. Four minutes in and Brighton won a penalty after Dunk was wrestled to the ground. Maupay squandered the chance to equalise, seeing a second successive spot kick saved following his effort at Leicester City back in June which Kasper Schmeichel kept out.

Maupay’s spot kick was a poor one as Willy Caballero guessed correctly to get down to his left and keep the ball out. If Potter and Brighton take nothing else from their 1-1 draw with Chelsea, it should be that Maupay does not take penalties this season. He looked about as convincing as Prince Andrew in a live television interview.

There was a less impressive show of goalkeeping from Caballero on the hour mark when he got himself into a right mess attempting to collect a delivery from Alexis Mac Allister. That presented an opportunity to Webster, whose header hit the cross bar before bouncing out for a goal kick.

Up the other end and Christian Walton’s afternoon came to a crushing end just 18 minutes after he had replaced Ryan. Walton impressively cleared out a mass of bodies to collect a Chelsea corner into the box when he landed awkwardly with his right leg buckling under him.

Walton was in agony and he was stretchered off with his leg in a protective cast. Potter said afterwards that the injury looked bad, which is not good news for a young goalkeeper who looked like he would finally be given the chance to challenge for the number one jersey at the Amex after seven loan spells in the past five seasons.

Any long term injury would also have a knock on effect to the futures of David Button and Jason Steele. Button had been lined up for a £1 million move to West Bromwich Albion, a transfer which the Albion would surely not allow to go through now they need a capable number two all the while Walton is in the treatment room.

Steele too had been linked with a move. The fact that he did not feature against Chelsea – young Robert Sanchez was preferred as the third goalkeeper on the bench – suggests he has slipped even further down the pecking order behind Ryan, Walton, Button and now Sanchez.

The former Sunderland man probably won’t mind remaining at the Albion; he is picking up a decent wage to train four times a week and spend the rest of his time playing golf and drinking in Hove. A reminder that the role of third choice goalkeeper at a Premier League club is the second best job in the world behind being a beer tester.

Button though will have wanted to move to a club where he could challenge for the number one jersey. Potter could of course still sell the Tyson Fury look-a-like to the Baggies, but it would represent a serious risk to go into the new season with Sanchez playing second fiddle to Ryan.

One unfortunate injury to Ryan and the 22-year-old would find himself pitched into the heat of the Premier League kitchen after just 52 career appearances for Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale.

If the jump in standard from Championship to top flight is big for a player like White, then it would be astronomical from League One to Premier League for Sanchez.

Walton’s injury seemed to suck the life out of proceedings up until the 90th minute when the Albion’s leveller arrived. Aaron Connolly was toppled in the Chelsea box and Brighton had another opportunity to make it 1-1 from the penalty spot.

Gross did what Maupay could not and beat Caballero from 12 yards, tucking the ball into the same corner that Maupay had unsuccessfully aimed for 40 minutes earlier. You can always rely on a German to do what a Frenchman cannot.

Lampard said afterwards, “It was our pleasure to be here, thanks for having us.” The Chelsea boss even received a nice round of applause, a sign that the afternoon was about much more than the normal tribal rivalries which come with football.

People were just happy to get back to watching Brighton, even if the circumstances were strange. There is still a long way to go before 30,000 people are back screaming at Dale Stephens to make a forward pass, but this was an important first step on the journey. Fingers crossed more of us will be allowed to be present next time the Amex throws open its turnstiles.