The Media Review: Mitoma and Georginio sparkle to knock Chelsea out

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Nick Szczepanik

2025-02-09T10:30+00:00

10 Georginio Rutter Celebrates his equaliser

Despite the possibility of extra time and penalties playing havoc with deadlines, the Sunday papers sent a strong contingent of reporters to the Amex to see Albion progress to the FA Cup fifth round with a 2-1 win over Chelsea.

One of the potential strands in their stories, of course, was how effectively Fabian Hurzeler’s team would respond to the previous Saturday’s 7-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest. They soon had the answer.

“What a difference a week has made for Fabian Hürzeler,” wrote Ed Aarons in The Observer. “There were plenty of Brighton supporters who would have justifiably viewed this fixture with some trepidation given their abject performance in the record 7-0 Premier League defeat by Nottingham Forest.

“But despite falling behind after just five minutes, a rousing comeback inspired by Georginio Rutter, their record signing, made it a night to remember against opponents that are not the most popular in these parts given recent history between the two clubs.

“There were wild celebrations when Kaoru Mitoma – who was the subject of a £61m bid from Al-Nassr during the transfer window – put Brighton ahead midway through the second half after Rutter had equalised with a clever header, with Hürzeler enjoying his moment of redemption as his side recorded their first win here since beating Manchester City at the start of November.

“Hürzeler’s watchword this week following the humiliation against Forest had been ‘intensity', with the Brighton manager admitting that there had been some honest exchanges with his players in training. He certainly got a response, with the lynchpin Carlos Baleba impressing in midfield on his return from injury and Rutter providing some of the cutting edge that has been missing in recent weeks.”

In The Sunday Times, Peter Rutzler wrote that “Brighton sparked into life, playing with greater intensity. They deservedly took the lead when Rutter collected a poor clearance and scooped the ball smartly into the path of Mitoma, who calmly controlled the ball with his chest and prodded it high into the net beyond Sanchez.”

Sam Dean of The Sunday Telegraph felt that “the home team had more attacking courage and class, with Georginio Rutter producing an excellent performance between the lines of midfield and attack, and Kaoru Mitoma scoring a fine winning goal.

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Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma both found the target, as Albion fought back from an early own goal to beat Chelsea and progress to the next round of the Emirates FA Cup. Club photographers Paul Hazlewood and James Boardman were at the Amex to cature all the action on Saturday evening.

“Brighton fell behind to a bizarre own goal after just five minutes but, from that point on, Fabian Hurzeler’s side were the better team. It marked an impressive reaction from last week’s thrashing at Nottingham Forest.

“Chelsea have regularly plucked Brighton’s players and staff in recent years and the presence of three former players in the away side’s line-up added spice to the match. Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo were all booed whenever they had the ball in the opening exchanges.

“One of the biggest cheers was reserved for Brighton’s Joel Veltman, who flew into a crunching tackle on his former team-mate [Cucurella] then appeared to offer to meet him in the car park later. It further contributed to a feisty occasion, which had begun in dramatic fashion as both teams struck within 12 minutes.

“Rutter was the game’s best player and one piece of second-half skill, the ball flipped over Caicedo like a circus trick, brought coos of delight from the home fans. Moments later he played a major part in Brighton’s second goal by chipping the ball towards Mitoma. The Japan international finished with style.”

09 Georginio Rutter Celebrates his equaliser

In The Mail on Sunday, Kieran Gill also drew attention to the amounts of cash that have changed hands between the clubs.

“Chelsea’s first trophy under their BlueCo ownership will not come in this season’s FA Cup after a loss to Brighton in which their scant return for such lavish spending became impossible to ignore,” he wrote.

“The home supporters made sure of that as they booed Robert Sanchez, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella from start to finish. That trio cost a fifth of a billion pounds to acquire collectively – the equivalent to 80 Kaoru Mitomas.

“And yet it was Mitoma who sent Brighton into the fifth round as their fans gleefully got to rub it in the faces of former friends turned foes.”

In The Sun on Sunday, Andy Dillon referenced Albion recently turning down a Chelsea-sized bid from elsewhere for the match-winner. “Kaoru Mitoma showed why the Saudis valued him at £75million as he fired his Brighton side into the FA Cup fifth round,” he wrote.

Kaoru Mitoma beats Robert Sanchez with a brilliant finish to give Albion the lead. 📷 James Boardman.

“The Japanese winger — the subject of a mega-money offer from Arabian club Al-Nassr, rejected by the Seagulls, struck a superb winner as Fabian Hurzeler’s men erased the 7-0 thrashing by Nottingham Forest. For boss Hurzeler, keeping Mitoma could be the signing of the window.

“After Rutter’s equaliser, an all-Premier League FA Cup tie took on extra life with the game evenly balanced under the lights. And when Veltman wrapped his legs around Cucurella’s ankles and sent the theatrical Spaniard rolling around on the deck later on, the atmosphere cranked up even further.

“Maresca’s mob were rattled enough to see their initial lead overturned into a deficit on 57 minutes and turn the tie on its head.

“Mitoma was put clear on the left flank by a laser ball from midfield by Rutter — the standout player of the game. His cross was half beaten away, before Lamptey had a dig against a wall of legs.

“But Rutter then clipped a cheeky ball over the top for Mitoma to race through and clip a shot past Sanchez to give Albion the lead with just over half an hour to go. What a turnaround for the same team — bar one — which was humbled just seven days before.”

In The Sunday Mirror, former University of Brighton man Ryan Taylor wrote that “last week Brighton folded like a pack of cards - but this time around they had an ace up their sleeve.

“When Cole Palmer somehow squirmed home a fortuitous opener inside the opening five minutes through the body of Bart Verbruggen - his fifth strike against Albion this season - this had all the makings of yet another slaughter.

“But dogged and determined Brighton, who had lost their past five encounters against the Blues prior to this valiant fightback, dug deep to secure a first home victory since early November thanks to goals in either half from Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma.”