The Media Review: Chelsea and Women's FA Cup semi-final

Some of the best football writers in the business were at Stamford Bridge for Albion’s visit to Chelsea, and they were treated to an excellent performance from Roberto De Zerbi’s team, not to mention surely one of the goals of the season from Julio Enciso.

Needless to say, Chelsea’s ongoing struggles were the focus of most reports, but many of the writers skilfully combined the two threads in their intros. In the Sunday Mirror, for example, Tom Hopkinson wrote that “Julio Enciso ruined Frank Lampard’s homecoming with the kind of fizzing strike that Chelsea’s interim boss would have been proud of in his pomp.

“The pocket-sized Paraguayan creamed home Brighton’s winner from 25-plus yards midway through the second half after Danny Welbeck had cancelled out Conor Gallagher’s opener.

“Victory was no more than Roberto De Zerbi’s men deserved after dominating their troubled hosts for much of this game. They were everything Chelsea would like to be but aren’t — attacking with vim and vigour, defending robustly and transitioning from defence to attack in the blink of an eye.

“They often ran Chelsea ragged in the final third and would have won by a greater margin than the 4-1 victory they recorded over the Blues in October had they not hit the woodwork twice, seen Kepa Arrizabalaga make three fine saves and wasted several more openings.

“So dominant were Brighton, in fact, that only one of the two sides on display here looked like they could give Real Madrid something to think about on Tuesday… and it wasn’t the team who will face them.”

Sam Wallace referenced the recent comings and goings between the two clubs – mainly goings – in the Sunday Telegraph. “It has taken £600 million to look this ordinary, and no small part of that paid in fees and managerial compensation to Brighton, who completed the league double over Chelsea on Saturday,” he wrote. “If October’s win at the Amex Stadium was a defiant howl at the recently-departed Graham Potter, this was a sophisticated dismantling of a post-Potter Chelsea team going nowhere.

“The oft-quoted reassurance offered on the [Todd] Boehly-Behdad Eghbali consortium is that no one becomes a billionaire without being the smartest man in the room. Although here that status belonged to Tony Bloom, the Brighton chairman. His team were outstanding, led by Potter’s successor, Roberto De Zerbi. This was, [Frank Lampard] acknowledged, a fine Brighton side who could beat anyone on their day.

“In the meantime, Boehly might have been forgiven for wondering why his recruitment department had overlooked Kaoru Mitoma and Pervis Estupinan, as well as Moises Caicedo, whom they at least tried to sign.

“Everything that could go right for De Zerbi did, with the exception of two first-half injuries; one to the very promising Irish striker Evan Ferguson and the other to full-back Joel Veltman, both of whom will now miss next Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.

“First-half substitutes Danny Welbeck and Enciso scored the goals, with Welbeck heading home from a Pascal Gross cross and Enciso, on for Veltman, hitting the winning goal in front of the Shed in the second half with a right-foot hit that would have graced Lampard’s own, lengthy catalogue of great strikes.

“Brighton were able to conjure more attempts on Chelsea’s goal – 26 – than any team at Stamford Bridge since records began. What might Real do with that kind of freedom?”

In the Mail on Sunday, Adrian Kajumba wrote that “both of these teams were playing their final game before upcoming, season-defining occasions. Only one will go into theirs lifted by events at Stamford Bridge.

“Chelsea host Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday. And there was little against Brighton to give them any encouragement they can turn things around. This was another deflating, dispiriting occasion for Chelsea. One against a club they, led by watching co-owner Todd Boehly, have raided in the last year but remain some way off – on and off the pitch – a damning indictment. Chelsea were comprehensively outplayed on their own pitch and such was Brighton’s dominance not even the changes made by Frank Lampard with the Madrid return in mind offer any mitigation.

“Brighton, meanwhile, head to Wembley next week for an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United. A repeat of this and they might well have a final to look forward to along with their pursuit of Europe in the remaining weeks of the season.

“Theirs was a performance to underline all the outstanding work that has been carried out at the Amex and why the vultures continue to circle. By some margin the best outfield players were in Brighton’s bright shirts – crimson apparently. Moises Caicedo – another Seagulls star Chelsea like - and Kaoru Mitoma led the way but the list could easily have been seven or eight players long.

“Chelsea needed goalkeeper and stand-in captain Kepa to be their standout performer but he had no answer to Danny Welbeck’s first-half header and Julio Enciso’s second-half wonder-strike. And Chelsea lost but were still flattered by the scoreline, Brighton ending the game with 26 shots to Chelsea’s eight and the dominant side in terms of possession.”

In The Observer, Jonathan Wilson wrote that “it’s important to stress just how good Brighton were. They were brilliant and that should be acknowledged before getting to the equally obvious point that Chelsea were laughably awful. Scorelines can be the great deceiver: this was 2-1 going on five or six.

“Brighton were yet again denied what looked a clear penalty as Christian Pulisic handled. Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso hit the woodwork. Danny Welbeck blazed a rebound over an open net. Kepa Arrizabalaga made three exceptional saves. And Conor Gallagher’s goal, Chelsea’s first in 387 minutes, was the result of a huge deflection. Yet Brighton still won with something to spare – more impressively, Roberto De Zerbi said, than in their 4-1 win over Chelsea at the Amex earlier in the season. ‘We are used to analysing the game through the result but I think we played better today,’ he said – although he wasn’t entirely satisfied. ‘We could have played better in the last 10 minutes.’

“But it was victory at a cost, with Evan Ferguson and Joël Veltman limping off. They must now be considered major doubts for next Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United. ‘I think they can’t play for a minimum couple of weeks,’ said De Zerbi. Both substitutes who came on scored, an indication, perhaps, of what a well-organised, well-run club Brighton are.

“Veltman had struggled against the pace of Mykhailo Mudryk; his departure meant Pascal Gross switching to right-back as Enciso came on. Not only did the German deal better with Mudryk, but it was his cross for Welbeck that brought the equaliser. It was Enciso, though, who had the greater impact, capping a fine display by wandering through Chelsea’s midfield 20 minutes from time before pinging a 25-yard strike into the top corner. The Paraguayan is 19 and cost £9.5m from the Asuncion club Libertad. Brighton, masters of the cleverly-sourced bargain, may have done it again. The contrast to the Chelsea model is almost too stark to be worth elucidating.”

Dan King of The Sun on Sunday wrote that “Brighton humiliated Chelsea for the second time in a season and wrecked Frank Lampard’s homecoming. Robert De Zerbi’s sizzling side were unable to match the 4-1 thrashing they gave returning Seagulls boss Graham Potter back in October, at least in terms of the scoreline. But if anything they were even better in a victory that was sealed by substitute Julio Enciso’s second-half scorcher.

“Chelsea at least took the lead through Conor Gallagher, their first goal for five games. It was never going to be enough against the vibrant visitors who could have had a hatful before Danny Welbeck equalised towards the end of the first half. Brighton had more chances after the break yet could not find the net until Enciso let fly from more than 20 yards. It was a fittingly brilliant way to seal a deserved win.”

James Gheerbrandt joined in the chorus of praise in the Sunday Times, writing that “a sparkling performance condemned Chelsea to a third straight defeat under the interim management of Frank Lampard. Brighton had to overcome a fortuitous Chelsea opener, but they patiently then overwhelmingly asserted their superiority, finishing with 26 shots to Chelsea’s eight. It was the longest of those, a 25-yard screamer from the Paraguayan substitute Julio Enciso, that decided the match and announced in neon lights the arrival of another sensational Brighton recruit.

“Brighton have been plundered by Chelsea. They have seen players, executives and coaches picked off by Todd Boehly’s claw machine, but the magic of their model remains inviolable, underpinned by intelligence and an infinite capacity for regeneration.”

Elsewhere, Albion women lost 3-2 away to WSL leaders Manchester United in their FA Cup semi-final, but received plenty of praise in the national media.  On the BBC website, Emma Smith wrote that “United overcame the division's bottom side in this cup semi-final and have realistic ambitions of a domestic double just five years after being founded. But they were pushed all the way by Brighton in a superb encounter, with the visitors looking reinvigorated under new manager Melissa Phillips.

“Set up with two solid banks of four and looking to counter down the wings at any opportunity, they punished a United side who were off colour in the first half. Mary Earps managed to get a hand to Veatriki Sarri's strike and should have made the save, but could only direct the ball into her own net.

“United's players had clearly been fired up during the interval as they equalised just a minute after the restart, Galton tapping home from Ona Batlle's fine low cross. Earps showed her ability in the second half with a fine save to tip Elisabeth Terland's shot wide, which would prove crucial by the final whistle.

“It looked as if United were on their way to Wembley when Lionesses star Alessia Russo rocketed a strike into the roof of the net from Katie Zelem's through ball with 15 minutes remaining. But Brighton were not done. Danielle Carter - who scored the winner in the 2016 FA Cup final for Arsenal - outmuscled Millie Turner and slotted a lofted through ball into the bottom corner past Earps.

“The Seagulls were well drilled and dogged in defence for long periods, but they have conceded a staggering 50 goals in 15 league games this season - and United, the WSL's top scorers, struck just as extra time loomed. Former plasterer Rachel Williams, who was introduced for Alessia Russo in the second half, finished low past her namesake Lydia to book United's first visit to Wembley on 14 May.

“For [head coach Melissa] Phillips, there is plenty of evidence Brighton have the ability and spirit to preserve their WSL status over their remaining seven games.”

Will Unwin agreed in The Observer. “Considering Manchester United defeated the same opponents 4-0 a fortnight ago, they would have hoped for a more straightforward day in their busy schedule as they battle to win the double. United are top of the Women’s Super League and Brighton bottom but the Seagulls, under their new manager, Mel Phillips, showed they have a great chance of staying up.

“While the Brighton goalkeeper was being kept busy by United four pigeons were feasting on the penalty spot in Mary Earps’s area, a sign of where the action was taking place. But the pigeons and Seagulls did eventually take flight.

“Brighton have survival in the league to focus on now but there were plenty of positives for Phillips to take from her first match in charge. ‘We are disappointed by the end result, it won’t define us. What we take away from this game is going to be far greater than that.’”

In the Sunday Telegraph, Tom Garry wrote: “Brighton are winless in the league since November and arrived at a sun-kissed Leigh Sports Village under little-to-no external expectations for something of a free hit, in their first match since new manager Melissa Phillips took charge on April 7. However, Phillips, who previously managed second-tier side London City Lionesses and coached at American National Women's Soccer League club Angel City earlier this year, will have been hugely encouraged by the valiant and much-improved display from her new team.

“Their full attention turns to trying to stay in the top tier, but Phillips has ‘100 per cent’ seen enough from her players to feel they can avoid the drop, adding: ‘They’re good enough. They’ve got it in them. It’s just about building an identity. They’ve not had the opportunity to properly do that with the changes in management, so we have to build an identity, we have to build belief, and we’re going to stay focused on giving a good account of ourselves, like we did on Saturday.

“’I couldn’t be more proud of the attitude the players showed and how they responded to different moments in the game. Brighton will be successful over time, it’s just about building it from here.’”