The Daily Telegraph gave it to us pure and simple. “Brighton finally took a league point from Chelsea at the tenth attempt yesterday thanks to a spectacular late equaliser from substitute Alireza Jakanbakhsh.
The Blues seemed to be cruising to victory after their captain, Cesar Azpilicueta, scored the first goal of the ‘20s after just ten minutes. But Jahanbakhsh, who hit his first Brighton goal to open the scoring in the 2-0 victory against Bournemouth on Saturday after firing blanks in his first 26 appearances, did it again with a stunning overhead volley six minutes from time.
“Graham Potter, the Brighton head coach, was amused by suggestions that the Iranian’s strike was the goal of the decade. ‘So far, yes!’ he said. ‘A great strike, really pleased for him He’s had a good week, that’s for sure’.”
Martin ‘Laptop’ Lipton kept the upbeat mood going in The Sun, writing, “Alireza Jahanbakhsh stunned Chelsea with a New Year’s Day wonder-strike.
“The Iranian, who burst into tears after netting his first Prem goal against Bournemouth on Saturday, kept his emotions in check this time.
“But his brilliant overhead kick, six minutes from time, gave Kepa no chance and gave Graham Potter’s men a point their refusal to give up merited.
“It was one to remember as well, beating Kepa from 14 yards after Lewis Dunk headed a corner back across goal.
“Kepa, who had just done superbly to keep out Aaron Connolly, was powerless this time round.
“And while Chelsea had been in command for 84 minutes, they ended up being indebted to the Spaniard for a late foot-stop to foil Neal Maupay.
“Lampard would have been frustrated after Chelsea dominated for long periods after Cesar Azpilicueta fired them ahead.
“And Chelsea could have been two to the good soon afterwards, when Abraham caught Davy Propper in possession 40 yards out.
“The striker advanced to the edge of the box, with Lampard screaming for him to find the rampaging Willian, but instead went for goal and saw his shot deflected behind.
“Brighton’s only attempt on goal had been an angled strike by Steven Alzate, as Chelsea bossed the game.
“And [Chelsea’s] failure to capitalise was punished by the Iranian’s late wonder show, as Potter's Seagulls started the new year on a high.
Alex Smith put events into historical and statistical context on the Mirror website, “Alireza Jahanbakhsh netted a stunning late equaliser to deny Frank Lampard's Chelsea another away success.
“The Blues had won seven of their 10 Premier League fixtures on the road this term coming into the clash on the south coast, compared to just four of 10 on home soil.
“Midfielder Jorginho admitted this week that they have found playing on the road easier than at Stamford Bridge and they looked en route to another win after Cesar Azpilicueta scored the first Premier League goal of 2020.
“The Spaniard celebrated his 100th start as Chelsea captain with the opening goal, guiding the ball home from close range in the 10th minute after Tammy Abraham's shot was blocked near the goal line by Aaron Mooy following a corner.
“But Jahanbakhsh scored with a brilliant bicycle kick in the second half to end Brighton's run of nine straight league defeats by Chelsea stretching back to 1983.”
James Gheerbrant of The Times went into more detail than most. He wrote, “This was a match defined by two displays of belief. The first belonged to Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Iranian winger, who had suffered 18 months of torment since his move from AZ Alkmaar before scoring his first goal in Brighton’s last game against Bournemouth. The Iranian was introduced midway through the second half and conjured something magical, one of those moments of virtuosity and emotion that held the entire stadium in its grip.
“Leaping to meet a Lewis Dunk header, Jahanbakhsh twisted in mid-air and executed a perfect overhead kick that nestled in the bottom corner. He immediately dropped to his knees and thrust his arms skyward, paying silent tribute to the faith that had sustained him through the misery of his first season and a half in England, before he was encircled by a group hug of Brighton team-mates.
“The second belonged, collectively, to Brighton. In the first half, their faithful adherence to Graham Potter’s short passing-based approach looked like a kamikaze policy in the face of Chelsea’s press, with Davy Pröpper and Yves Bissouma overwhelmed in central midfield and every lateral pass across the centre circle to Dunk an invitation for a ferocious squadron of fluorescent orange socks to swarm menacingly.
But Brighton persevered through the peril, and with the help of two tactical tweaks by Potter, began to impose their game on Chelsea.
“In the 87th minute, having already equalised and with Chelsea desperate to recapture their lead, Brighton calmly, confidently, picked their way through a wave of Chelsea pressure with a move that ran from the goalkeeper Mat Ryan all the way to the centre forward Neal Maupay. Maupay’s strike drew an excellent save from Kepa Arrizabalaga, who had one of his strongest games of the season.”
Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian began by talking about Chelsea but later admitted, “that it was not all about the big team’s failings.
"This was Brighton’s first-ever point against Chelsea and they might even have snatched all three after Jahanbakhsh’s stunner, only for Kepa Arrizabalaga to repel Neal Maupay’s low drive.
Arrizabalaga would also make a fine stop from Aaron Connolly, whose introduction at the break gave Brighton more urgency. ‘I thought the players were amazing,’ Potter said. ‘You go toe to toe with Chelsea and if you make mistakes they punish you. We had to adjust because our structure wasn’t so good in the first half. We got better.’
“With Brighton uncomfortable in a midfield diamond, Chelsea should have pulled clear. But perhaps it was too easy. Chelsea’s intensity faded and Brighton threatened before half-time, Maupay teeing up Leandro Trossard to test Arrizabalaga.
“Brighton, who will be without Dan Burn for two months after the left-back broke his collarbone in a collision with James, were improving.
“Potter jettisoned the diamond and he made another alteration during the interval, removing Yves Bissouma for Connolly.
“The change meant Brighton were using a 4-4-2 and Potter was rewarded for throwing caution to the wind. Arrizabalaga denied Connolly but the breakthrough arrived when Lewis Dunk’s header led to Jahanbakhsh’s moment of magic. The Iranian winger had ended his long wait for a Brighton goal during last weekend’s win over Bournemouth and his second in two games means Chelsea must ask themselves some tough questions.”
Tired of reading about Alireza’s stunner yet? Me neither. Let us sign off with Adrian Kajumba of the Daily Mail, who wrote that, “For the second successive game, Alireza Jahanbakhsh was left in almost stunned disbelief, this time after scoring the goal of the decade.
“For Frank Lampard and Chelsea it was an all too familiar feeling of frustration as their attempts to build momentum were checked once more.
“Arriving on the back of their rousing late comeback against Arsenal, Chelsea led after just 10 minutes, dominated the rest of first half and kept Brighton at arms' length for most of the second.
“Their failure to grab a second goal proved costly, though, and left the door open for Jahanbakhsh's jaw-dropping late heroics, a sensational overhead kick to cancel out Cesar Azpilicueta’ s landmark opener.
“Their failure to put Brighton away when they had the chance to do so was punished in stunning style by Jahanbakhsh.”