Enzo Maresca revealed how Brighton surprised Chelsea in the first half of their defeat to the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea made it three Premier League wins in a row and four in all competitions as they beat the Seagulls in a crazy game at Stamford Bridge.
Cole Palmer once again stole the show as he made yet more Premier League history as he became the first player to score four goals in the first half of a game, the pick of which was a superb free kick.
Maresca on how Brighton surprised Chelsea
An incredible first half saw six goals scored, but Chelsea didn’t start the game particularly well and found themselves a goal down early on before fighting back.
Speaking after the game Maresca revealed the Blues struggled off the ball because Brighton had “changed something.”
“Off the ball, we struggled in the first-half because they surprised us,” he told reporters.
“They changed something. On the ball, the game was exactly the way we planned in the first-half and second-half. Then at half-time, we adjusted a little bit the way we were pressing.
“In the second-half, we didn’t concede nothing in terms of chances. In the first-half, we conceded two goals and then some moments. The reason why was because they surprised us a little bit with the way they played on the ball.”
After a shaky start, the Blues grew into the game and took full advantage of Brighton playing a high line with the likes of Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke getting in behind on numerous occasions.
Palmer himself arguably should have had five or six goals, whilst Jackson missed two or three very good opportunities and on another day Chelsea could have scored seven or eight goals.
Things have started really well for Maresca and next up is a home game against Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night before Nottingham Forest come to Stamford Bridge next Sunday in the final game before the international break.
