Chelsea are a club where something always seems to be happening, whether they are winning Champions League trophies or Premier League titles, changing owners or trying to sign half the Albion squad.
So it is only natural that most of the reporters covering their games pay plenty of attention to the Blues’ performances, especially when they win. One paper’s chief sports correspondent at Stamford Bridge on Saturday took that to extremes, mentioning the Albion’s contribution to the match only twice. But even he found space to enthuse that “Facundo Buonanotte had offered some hope shortly before the break with a goal that belied his 18 years.”
Indeed, the Argentinian teenager’s sumptuous strike was praised by most writers in among their dissection of all things Chelsea. Matt Law of The Daily Telegraph wrote that “Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele had made a great save from his own player, Carlos Baleba [actually Igor Julio], before Buonanotte reduced Chelsea’s advantage by cutting inside Colwill and curling a perfect left-foot shot past Robert Sanchez.
“Another of Brighton’s substitutes, Pedro, pulled a goal back with a header from a corner two minutes into the 10 minutes of time added on for stoppages to ensure a nervy finish.”
According to Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian, “it seemed that Chelsea were cruising, only for the mood to change when Adam Lallana found Facundo Buonanotte. One on one with Colwill, the winger cut inside and curled a beautiful shot past Sánchez.”
Andrew Dillon of The Sun agreed that “Buonanotte scored a classy goal on 41 minutes to bring his team back into contention and sub Joao Pedro made it a nervy finale when he headed in from a corner two minutes into added time in the second half.”
But he also pointed out that Chelsea “were given a helping hand when ref Craig Pawson changed his mind and handed them a penalty after being sent to the pitchside monitor.
“Pawson initially waved away Brighton sub James Milner’s challenge on Mykhailo Mudryk as the pair tussled for the ball just inside the Albion box.”
Ian Ladyman of The Daily Mail wrote that Albion “are not a team to lie down and the game started to turn in the 44th minute when the visitors moved the ball left to right across the field in to the path of Buonanotte. The South American was faced up by Colwill who seemed happy to show him inside from where he delivered a lovely shot with his left instep that found the far corner.
“De Zerbi’s team were on top for the first ten minutes or so of the second half with Lallana coming close with a trick and a volley close to the goal.”
Neil McLeman of The Mirror found arguably the most interesting angle, rightly acclaiming a graduate of the Albion academy as one of the match’s key performers, although the player in question now plays for Chelsea.
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“Robert Sanchez had the ex-factor as 10-man Chelsea survived Connor Gallagher's red card and a chaotic finish to win the latest grudge match against his former club,” he wrote.
“Chelsea have given Brighton over £200million over the last 18 months for Moises Caicedo, the suspended Marc Cucurella and Graham Potter's coaching team. Yet the best return on Sunday was the £25m spent this summer on Spain goalkeeper Sanchez who made a series of late saves to protect the win.
“[In] the best move of the game - and the biggest controversy - Sanchez caught a corner to spark a counterattack which saw Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson combine to release Mykhaylo Mudryk. The Ukrainian was fended away by James Milner but Pawson gave the kick after VAR review and Fernandez scored again.
“Brighton then dominated possession only for Sanchez to deny Pascal Gross and Kaoru Mitoma. But the visitors could not add to sub Joao Pedro’s flicked header from Gross' corner in the second minute of injury time - the final goal of a thrilling contest.”
The BBC’s commitment to balance guarantees that their match reporters comment on both teams, and Sam Drury’s verdict on the outcome was fair and balanced. “Coming back from two goals down to take a point, possibly three, at Stamford Bridge would have capped an already historic week for Roberto De Zerbi’s side,” he wrote.
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“Reaching the Europa League knockout phase with a win at AEK Athens on Thursday was an uplifting but tiring achievement. Despite their best efforts in this game, it was not to be for the Seagulls.
“While Brighton responded admirably to going 2-0 down and enjoyed nearly 80% of possession in the second half, the frustration will be that they lacked the sharpness in the final third to really make it count.
“Fatigue may have played a part, but with a busy December ahead and more European football to come in the new year, that is something Brighton will need to get used to.
“With so many injuries and suspensions to contend with, even in defeat there were points of encouragement for the Seagulls, and they will focus now on capitalising on home assignments against Brentford and Burnley in the coming days.”