The Media Review: Mitoma and Minteh magic stuns Chelsea

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The papers react to the terrific 3-0 win over the Blues.

Nick Szczepanik

2025-02-15T10:00+00:00

Kaoru Mitoma scored what will surely go down as one of the best at the Amex. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion and Chelsea were back at the Amex only days after facing each other in the FA Cup and so were most of the writers who had covered the cup tie. And after battling through the Friday rush hour traffic this time, they were rewarded with a moment of magic that would have made even the longest journey worthwhile.

Sam Dean of The Daily Telegraph was one of those pulling double duty and he led the universal praise for Albion’s stunning opening goal after noting that “Chelsea were once again beaten by the better team at the Amex Stadium, where Brighton delighted in this dismantling of the club that has so often snatched their brightest talents in recent years.

“Brighton’s brilliance is in their resilience. They can lose players such as Moisés Caicedo and Marc Cucurella to Chelsea but they always seem to have more stars and more options waiting to come through. On this occasion it was the genius of Kaoru Mitoma that turned the match in their favour and ultimately set Fabian Hürzeler’s side on course for victory.

“Mitoma famously wrote a thesis on dribbling techniques during his time at university in Japan. On the evidence of the astonishing goal he produced here, he is more than capable of producing another one on the art of the first touch.

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Kaoru Mitoma set Albion on the path to victory with a wonderful run and finish, before a goal in each half for Yankuba Minteh ensured another home win for Fabian Hurzeler and Albion. Club photographers Paul Hazlewood, James Boardman and Simon Roe were at the Amex Stadium on Friday evening to capture all the key moments from a wonderful Albion display.

“His piece of skill, plucking the ball from the night’s sky as he ran behind the Chelsea defence, will surely rank as one of the goals of the season. It is hard to imagine a more visually appealing goal being scored than this one, which prompted immediate comparisons to the great Dennis Bergkamp.

“Truly, this will be regarded as one of the finest individual moments of the campaign. The Japanese winger produced the most sumptuous of first touches, somehow controlling a long ball over his shoulder, before curling his powerful shot into the corner after 27 minutes.

“Mitoma’s magic represented the standout moment but there were other joys for the home supporters, with Chelsea simply unable to keep up with the running power and imaginative thinking of their opponents.”

Comparisons with Arsenal’s non-flying Dutchman Bergkamp abounded. In The Mirror, Paul Brown wrote that “Kaoru Mitoma did his best impression of Dennis Bergkamp with a spectacular goal of the season contender. And Yankuba Minteh then bagged a brace as Maresca's problems mounted with Noni Madueke joining a growing injury list.

“The Seagulls had to come from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the FA Cup at the Amex last weekend. But they bossed most of this game, with Mitoma leading the way.

“Chelsea were undone in the 27th minute by one simple long ball forward from Bart Verbruggen to the outstanding Mitoma. His first touch was exquisite and allowed him to get past Trevoh Chalobah to fire into the bottom corner.

“Brighton doubled their lead when Georginio Rutter's cross was eventually fired home by Minteh. And Minteh then sprung the offside trap and scored his second, turning Marc Cucurella inside out before sneaking it in at the near post.”

Kieran Gill of The Daily Mail went even further. “Brighton were slicker, smarter, stronger, and their opening goal involved a move so majestic that it made the numb toes worthwhile on this frozen Friday night,” he wrote.

“Kaoru Mitoma’s first touch was up there with the very best, one which would not look alien in a showreel for Dennis Bergkamp, Luis Suarez or Dimitar Berbatov. It was a ball launched long by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen which had no business being plucked out of the air as exquisitely as it was. It landed over Mitoma’s shoulder while he was sprinting at speed. He controlled it, turned Trevoh Chalobah, and curled into the corner from 20 yards. Brighton turned down £54million from Saudi Arabia for Mitoma in January. This was why.”

In The Sun, regular Chelsea-watcher Andy Dillon thought that Mitoma showed “world class quality to make a £1 billion squad look two bob.

“Brighton fans were singing ‘Can we play you every week?’ long before halftime - ignoring the fact they actually do. If there is any consolation for Chelsea fans, they got to see a stunning goal scored right in front of them by a class act - just a shame it was against their team.

“Mitoma’s ice-cool control taking down a long punt upfield from keeper Bart Verbruggen redefines route one football. The weighty hoof landed on his outstretched right foot like a plunging meteorite, yet the Japanese winger cushioned it like a fragile, newborn baby. He then slammed on the air brakes and left Chelsea defender Trevor Chalobah for dead before curling a classy finish into the corner of the net.”

As Ed Aarons wrote in The Guardian, “Enzo Maresca must be sick of the sight of Kaoru Mitoma. A week after he sent them tumbling out of the FA Cup, a breathtaking piece of control from the Japan winger to score the opening goal set up another memorable victory for Brighton and piled more pressure on the Chelsea manager. At times Maresca seemed lost on the touchline as he watched his side struggle to respond after Yankuba Minteh had made it 2-0 before half-time.

GEORGI CAM IS HERE! 🤩🤳 pic.twitter.com/g5fqt10luR
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) February 14, 2025

“Minteh’s second of the night killed off any hopes of a comeback and it could have turned into a Valentine’s Day massacre had Mitoma, João Pedro or Joël Veltman taken late chances.”

And amid plenty of ‘what does this mean for Chelsea’? analysis elsewhere, the i paper noted that “Brighton's first home victory in the Premier League in six attempts, their previous Amex success a 2-1 win against Manchester City in November, emphatically answered any critics who thought they sensed a crisis after the Seagulls’ 7-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest a fortnight ago.”