Most of the Sunday paper reports concentrated almost entirely on Frank Lampard’s first home win and first clean sheet as Chelsea manager. Mentions of the visiting team largely referred to the goalkeeping heroics of Maty Ryan or the penalty incident that led to Chelsea’s opening goal.
Andy Sims of the Press Association put the size of the task that Albion had faced in context on The Independent website. “Brighton never really threatened to deny the hosts a first clean sheet of the season.
“Not that the omens were particularly promising for them here. They had lost all eight previous league meetings with Chelsea and have now set an English record for most games played, and lost, against one opponent. Nor had Brighton ever scored at Stamford Bridge in five visits.
“In their two Premier League trips to west London they mustered two shots on target. On Saturday they managed one, in stoppage time. Chelsea, by contrast, had 17 shots - three of them sitters - in a one-sided first half without finding a way through.”
Ian ‘Hawkeye’ Hawkey of the Sunday Times praised Albion’s Australian last line of defence: “But for Ryan, the outcome would have been settled well before half-time. Chelsea clearly had the tools to pick a way through Brighton’s back five, if not quite the finesse, until later, to beat Ryan.
“The Australian made a smart save when Ross Barkley, with a cushioned volley, met a dipping, curling cross that Marcos Alonso was entitled to stand back and admire, even if one or two Brighton midfielders had allowed Alonso rather too much time to execute it. Moments later, Jorginho, with an equally well measured pass, invited Pedro to dart behind the defenders and take on Ryan. The goalkeeper won that duel.
Adrian Kajumba of the Mail on Sunday felt that Graham Potter’s men had contributed to their own downfall. “Brighton were ideal opponents for Chelsea.
“How they weren't behind at half-time was a mystery. Jorginho and Tammy Abraham both volleyed wide early on before the latter hit the post with a header.
“Then a combination of excellent defending from Adam Webster, who for a spell during the first half did a pretty good impression of a one-man wall as he repelled a succession of shots and crosses, and goalkeeper Mat Ryan kept Chelsea at bay until the break.
“Five minutes into the second half Brighton's insistence on playing out from the back and taking risks cost them. What was unfortunate, was that Webster put a foot wrong for the only time in the game and paid the ultimate price.
“He seemed to be caught in two minds when Dale Stephens played the ball back to him, between whether to pass or control the ball.
“His touch was too heavy, Mason Mount pounced and Webster's tackle, as his attempted tackle to recover the situation was a split second too late and he fouled the alert Chelsea midfielder.”
Jacob Steinberg was more positive about Albion’s playing style in The Observer. “They played out from the back throughout and paid for their bravery when Webster suffered a brain-freeze shortly after the restart, dithering on the ball in his own area, losing it to Mount and tripping the Chelsea midfielder in an attempt to salvage the situation. ‘It’s not the player’s responsibility, it’s mine,’ Potter said. ‘We ask them to play that way.’
Matt Law of the Sunday Telegraph admitted that Albion came close to levelling against the run of play after that. “Chelsea were given a reminder that they could not sit back and relax, as Brighton threatened for the first time just past the hour mark when Bong’s cross was headed wide by Pascal Gross,” he wrote.
“Callum Hudson-Odoi replaced Pedro in the 63rd minute, but there was another warning for the Blues as Burn hit the crossbar.
“Steven Alzate, who was booked in the first half for diving, ran through on goal but his shot was deflected wide by Andreas Christensen. Burn connected with the resulting corner, but the ball bounced up and hit the top of Kepa’s bar.
“Having been unfortunate not to score, Burn then had salt rubbed into his wounds as Chelsea sealed all three points. Hudson-Odoi found Willian on the right and the Brazilian’s shot took a vital deflection off Burn to wrong-foot Ryan and find the back of the net.”
Emlyn Begley of the BBC website wrote that “Teenage striker Aaron Connolly's introduction sparked a good 10 minutes or so for Brighton, with Burn heading off the crossbar from Pascal Gross' corner. But Willian's goal wrapped the game up - and Stephens' weak 25-yard shot in injury time was Albion's only effort on target.
"’We gave a goal away cheaply and then grew into the game but then gave a goal that killed the game,’ said Potter. ‘We are disappointed but credit to the opposition. Chelsea were good and we could not sustain any pressure.
“’There are always things you can improve. You have to be clinical when the moments come. But the players gave everything and Chelsea were just better today.
"’We have had a settled way of playing. Personnel have to change in the game if things are not working. The boys have been positive to what we want to do’.”