Chelsea beat Brighton in seven-goal thriller to maintain perfect start

Chelsea secured a perfect start to the new Premier League season as they defeated Brighton in a thrilling seven-goal match at Stamford Bridge. Romeo Lavia, making his debut for Chelsea, opened the scoring with a goal in the fourth minute, capitalizing on a defensive error by Brighton. Xabi Alonso, Brighton's new manager, witnessed his first home league game in charge with his team facing a daunting task.

Mats Wieffer proved crucial for Brighton by blocking Joao Pedro's header from a corner just four minutes into the match, but his defensive error proved costly. Ten minutes later, Morgan Rogers provided a cross for Pedro Neto, who scored to make it 2-0. Brighton's troubles continued in the 32nd minute when Jorrel Hato's left wing-back found Joao Pedro, bringing the score to 3-0 against his former club.

Despite the early setback, Brighton fought back valiantly, pulling one goal back before halftime. Emi Martinez, making his debut for Chelsea, denied Charalampos Kostoulas, and Malick Yalcouye volleyed in the loose ball to make it 3-1. Brighton began the second half strongly, reducing the deficit further in the 63rd minute when Yalcouye played in Pascal Gross, whose shot hit Joao Pedro and deflected into the net past Martinez.

Cole Palmer added another goal for Chelsea with a brilliant individual effort, curling the ball past Verbruggen from outside the box, restoring Chelsea's two-goal lead in the 74th minute. Despite their efforts, Brighton could not complete their comeback as Brighton managed to score a third goal from virtually the final play of the game.