Blues finally find a centre-forward in £31m Jackson, while Premier League defenders should fear Mudryk, but Pochettino still has work to do: THINGS WE LEARNED as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-3
Blues finally find £31m center forward in Jackson as Premier League defenders should fear Mudryk, but Pochettino still has work to do: THINGS WE LEARN as Chelsea beat Brighton 4-3
- Mauricio Pochettino secured the second win of his reign at Chelsea on Saturday
- The Blues emerged victorious from a seven-goal preseason thriller with Brighton
- Mail Sport looks at five things we learned from Chelsea’s 4-3 win over Brighton
Chelsea emerged victorious by the odd goal in seven as she and Brighton played a thriller in the opening game of the Premier League Summer Series.
Mail Sport’s CRAIG HOPE was at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to bring you his five talking points…
MAUR TO DO FOR POCH…
Saying Mauricio Pochettino has work to do at Chelsea is like saying Santa will be busy on Christmas Eve. Four of his starters had never played competitively for the club, while the bench featured several names that would hardly be known to anyone outside West London.
It was Brighton who looked the best in the first half before a series of second half substitutions and the dismissal of Seagulls defender Jan Paul van Hecke followed at 1-1. He was shown a second yellow card for a shot at Cesare Casadei that nearly left the young Italian in the front row of the main stand.
Chelsea emerged victorious from a seven-goal thriller against Brighton in Philadelphia
Despite the 4-3 win, it was clear new Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino has work to do at the club
And despite Chelsea’s win – they were excellent at times against 10 men – this match still underlined the magnitude of the task Pochettino has inherited. You only had to look at the team sheet to find out so much. They remain terribly light in midfield in particular, where only Conor Gallagher has been a senior starter – and there was talk of him leaving the club this summer. Not now. Frankly, Gallagher did well and his energy, clean distribution and goal scoring were hugely positive for Pochettino. He needs many more before Chelsea have any chance of reclaiming their place in the Premier League’s top six, let alone the top four.
JACK IS THE SMALL…
One of those positives already looks like Nicolas Jackson, who came over from Villarreal this summer and costs around 31 million pounds. He has four assists in two friendlies and scored his first goal for The Blues here.
You knew he would never miss when he bounced clear through Marc Cucurella as he had just scored goals for fellow substitutes Mykhailo Mudryk and Gallagher. He finished with a confident clip past the goalkeeper and was duly confirmed as man of the match by the stadium’s PA. It was deserved. The Senegalese looks fast, skilled and has a clear swagger. Have Chelsea finally found a centre-forward?
Nicolas Jackson, a £31 million striker, impressed after joining from Villarreal this summer
AND ANOTHER ONE…
Mudryk scored his first for the club, a super volley after exchanging passes twice with Jackson, and looked amazing during his 45 minutes on the pitch. There was one run to catch the ball as it ran away to the touchline that felt like it had turbo boosters in its boots. It was a terrifying display of pace that left the crowd gasping. It is the Premier League defenders who should be gasping for breath ahead of their meeting with the Ukrainian this season.
NO MO, NO GO?
Moises Caicedo was left out of the Brighton side amid a proposed move to Chelsea. Roberto De Zerbi insists it was because the midfielder has only been training for a few days, but his involvement was likely never given the talks between the clubs that remain live.
Brighton have made it clear they want £100 million and De Zerbi suggested on Friday that if Chelsea included Levi Colwill as part of the deal there could be progress. The centre-back spent last season on loan at Brighton and De Zerbi would love to have him back on a permanent basis.
That said, he conceded a late penalty here with a fumble challenge and was part of a defense that conceded three times. It wasn’t his best performance, but Pochettino claimed afterwards that the 20-year-old could become one of England’s best centre-backs, insisting he wanted to keep him at Stamford Bridge. That doesn’t seem to be helpful to their chances of landing Caicedo.
Mykhailo Mudryk showed a terrifying pace that made the crowd gasp
Moises Caicedo was left out of the Brighton side amid a proposed move to Chelsea
FINANCIAL PROFIT…
Americans have a way of making their big stadiums much more characterful than those in the UK. Lincoln Financial Field—the 68,000-seat home of the NFL franchise Philadelphia Eagles—has a unique, almost octagonal design, complete with quirky balconies overlooking the field in two of its corners. The city skyline is also visible between two of the grandstands, and that adds beautifully to the charm.
Compare this place to Wembley, or many of the other massive bowls that are all too common when new stadiums are built in Europe, and there’s only one winner. ‘The Linc’ will host a World Cup quarter-final in 2026 and that promises to be an opportunity. You also wonder how good the venues have to be for the semi and final.