Mauricio Pochettino claimed his second victory as the new Chelsea manager after his side came from behind to beat Brighton 4-3 in a thrilling pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Danny Welbeck put the Seagulls ahead early on, firing the ball into the back of the net with a half-volley after a combination with Kaoru Mitoma and former Chelsea star Billy Gilmour.
Roberto De Zerbi opted to leave Moises Caicedo out of his squad for the game after telling the Blues to stay away from his prized midfielder this week amid their growing bid to sign the £100million-valued star.
Despite conceding a goal early on, the Blues bounced back soon after with new signing Christopher Nkunku scoring his second goal in two games, kicking the ball in with a cute touch.
With the scores level at half time, both sides would miss several chances to take the lead before the south coast side fell to ten men.
Christopher Nkunku (pictured) scored to help Chelsea bounce back after a goal to beat Brighton 4-3 in their pre-season friendly on Saturday night
Mauricio Pochettino (left) would claim his second win as the new Chelsea boss as his side played a thrilling seven-goal thriller against Roberto De Zerbi’s (right) side
Mykhailo Mudryk (pictured) scored a sensational half volley during the game to give Chelsea a 2-1 lead in the game
In a moment of recklessness, Jan Paul van Hecke had stepped in to give a firm challenge to Cesare Casadei just moments after receiving his first yellow card and receiving his marching orders from referee Robert Jones.
The Blues would benefit from their extra numbers moments later, with Mykhailo Mudryk firing a simply sensational half-volley past the goalkeeper from outside the box.
The sold-out crowd at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field was certainly treated to a thrilling game of football, with the Ukrainian striker combining in a very slick one-two with Nicolas Jackson, who impressed with the ball at his feet throughout the match.
Conor Gallagher added to the scores in the 72nd minute, before new signing Jackson would break away from the Brighton defense to score his first goal in a blue shirt to make it 4–1.
While Chelsea appeared to be in control, De Zerbi’s side had other ideas with Levi Colwill conceding a penalty and Joao Pedro converting from the ensuing penalty.
And just as things seemed to be moving forward, Pedro produced a brilliant solo run down the left flank of goal before finding Deniz Undav in the center of the box.
Jan Paul van Hecke (centre-right) would be sent off during the game after two yellow cards
Conor Gallagher (pictured) also impressed as the Blues got on the scoresheet to make it 3-1
Joao Pedro (right) would lead a late Seagulls comeback and scored from the spot before Deniz Undav followed and fired a shot into the back of the net in the 89th minute
After the game, Pochettino (pictured) said he had plenty of positives to think about despite conceding three goals
The German would make no mistake with his shot, firing the ball into the right corner of the goal in the 89th minute to make it 4-3.
Chelsea held on to Brighton’s late progress and would eventually claim their second win of their pre-season campaign.
It was Pochettino’s second win in charge of the club and after the game he insisted that while he was unhappy with his side’s number of goals conceded, there were many positives to take from the game.
“We are happy for the fans,” he said. ‘Never happy when I get goals against, but it is normally almost three weeks in the preparation. I am happy and have seen many positive things.’
The Zerbi had also claimed in the week that Brighton could offer Caicedo in a trade deal for Colwill, but after the game Pochettino insisted the defender was in his plans for the upcoming season.
“We don’t have to say anything or make a statement,” the Argentina manager added.
“He is our player and he will stay with us. He is a good player and he did better than I expected. I’m so happy with him and he can become one of England’s greatest centre-backs.
“He’s going to be part of our team.”
Brighton will now face Brentford on Wednesday and Pochettino’s side are set to face Newcastle the day after.