Yankuba Minteh helped Brighton to a second triumph over Chelsea in a week, as they followed up their FA Cup win with a 3-0 victory in the Premier League on Friday. (More Football News)
🉐Minteh, who had only scored three league goals ahead of this fixture, scored either side of half-time to lead his side back to winning ways in the top-flight.
🍨The Seagulls went ahead in the 27th minute when Kaoru Mitoma sensationally plucked Bart Verbruggen's ball out of the sky before placing it beyond Filip Jorgensen's grasp.
💜Enzo Fernandez thought he had hauled Chelsea level eight minutes later, but saw his goal ruled out after he was judged to have pushed Joel Veltman before heading home.
⭕Brighton edged further ahead seven minutes before the break when Minteh finished from close range, tucking the ball home after good work from Danny Welbeck in the box.
෴Minteh then sealed the win with his second of the game just after the hour, squeezing the ball in at the near post, with a potential foul on Levi Colwill in the build-up waved away.
🌠The Seagulls, not content with their lead, almost added a fourth, with Mitoma seeing his effort saved before Veltman saw his strike pushed on to the post by Jorgensen.
𓂃Brighton moved up two places and into eighth ahead of the rest of the weekend's action. Chelsea, meanwhile, stay in the top four, though could drop out on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Double bubble
♓Despite beating Chelsea in the FA Cup in their last competitive match, Brighton were still licking their wounds from their humiliating 7-0 thrashing to Nottingham Forest, but they responded in style to earn a much-needed victory at the Amex Stadium.
🌸Indeed, Brighton enjoyed their first home win in six games in the Premier League (D3 L2), while it was their joint-biggest victory in the competition over a side starting the day in the top four, along with a 3-0 win v Arsenal in May 2023 under Roberto De Zerbi.
𝕴They also beat the same opponent twice within seven days for the first time ever as a top-flight club and the first time overall since November 2007 (v Cheltenham Town).
ꦜBut the triumph was inspired by Minteh, who bagged his first-ever brace in English football, while he has now been directly involved in four goals in his last four Premier League games (three goals, one assist), one more than in his first 16 outings in the competition combined (three).
ꦦFor Chelsea, meanwhile, they are now winless in five away matches in the Premier League (D2 L3), while they have picked up just nine points from their last nine top-flight games (W2 D3 L4), after taking 34 points from their first sixteen this season (W10 D4 L2 – 2.1 pts per game on average).
