Magic Mitoma and Minteh double give Brighton 3-0 win over lackluster Chelsea
BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Brighton completed a league and cup double over Chelsea on Friday after beating the London side 3-0 for the second time in a week.
Brighton beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup last Saturday and gave an even better performance for all three points in the Premier League on Friday thanks to a magic moment from Kaoru Mitoma and brace from Yankuba Minteh.
With 27 minutes gone, the Japanese striker brought down with aplomb a hopeful punt forward by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and powered past the last man before firing a low shot past Filip Jorgensen.
Mitoma was also involved in Brighton’s second 11 minutes later. He danced through the Chelsea penalty box before firing a low shot across goal. The defense cut out the cross but couldn’t clear the danger and the ball fell to Minteh, who stroked it home.
The Gambian winger got his second and Brighton’s third 17 minutes into the second half after working a nice one-two with Danny Welbeck and firing in from a tight angle as the Chelsea defense stood and watched.
“Three goals, a clean sheet, what more can you ask for?” Brighton keeper Verbruggen told broadcaster Sky Sports.
It was the third loss in its last four games for an insipid Chelsea side and left it in fourth place in the Premier League table, four points behind Nottingham Forest, which has a game in hand.
Chelsea had 70% possession but couldn’t put a shot on goal.
“Probably since I arrived that is the worst performance, especially in the moment we are in,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told the BBC.
Brighton’s first home win in the league since Nov. 9 lifted it two places into eighth, and was a brilliant reply to the humiliating 7-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Feb 1.
“It has been a massive couple of weeks for us after a horrible result and it was important we reacted in the right way,” Welbeck told Premier League Productions.
“There was obviously something wrong against Forest. We had to look at ourselves and have some honest conversations in the dressing room and with the manager. It was something we could not just gloss over. We had to have that feeling of what it was like and carry it with us.”
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