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Chelsea recorded their fourth consecutive victory in all competitions by beating Brighton & Hove Albion 4-2 on Saturday.
There was no competition for the man of the match award as Cole Palmer stole the show by scoring four goals, all within the first half.
After the match, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca called Palmer the “best player in the Premier League”.
Brighton’s two goals also came before half-time, with Georginio Rutter and Carlos Baleba scoring.
KIERAN GILL took his notebook to Stamford Bridge and jotted down four observations for Mail Sport.
Manager Enzo Maresca applauds during his Chelsea team’s 4-2 victory over Brighton.
Keown hit the nail on the head
Martin Keown wrote in his column on Saturday that Brighton had to be careful with their high defensive line because if anyone could exploit that space at the back, it was Chelsea.
How right he was. Time and time again, passes were played into that area for Cole Palmer and company to collect.
Fabian Hurzeler is clearly a talented manager as he was unbeaten until this trip to Stamford Bridge.
But Chelsea showed Brighton’s upcoming rivals how the 31-year-old’s system can be beaten here.
Everyone else now has the plan for victory, and their next rivals, Tottenham, are lucky to have fast forwards who would love the chance to stretch their legs like Chelsea did.
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler saw a malfunction in his system at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Palmer reacts to Brighton chants
Brighton fans arrived armed with a repertoire of chants directed at their old loves, and had still not forgiven Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo and Robert Sánchez for leaving them for Chelsea.
‘Sánchez again, ole ole’, they sang to him when he made his second mistake to concede again.
But Palmer took that criticism personally, as evidenced by his celebrations.
He silenced them. He held his “cold” celebration in their direction. He told them to know their place.
The lesson here is to never make Palmer angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry.
Cole Palmer, scorer of four goals, silenced visiting Brighton fans after completing his hat-trick
Great opportunity to sign in the summer for £20m
Filip Jorgensen will have the chance to impress in goal this Thursday when Chelsea plan to rotate their goalkeepers for the visit of Gent in the Conference League.
After the mistakes made by Sanchez, the 22-year-old must be relishing that chance to show why he should be the Premier League favorite, having joined Villarreal for £20m in the summer.
Former Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sánchez made multiple errors against his former team
Maresca demonstrates Chelsea’s strength in depth
Chelsea’s strength in depth was demonstrated by how Enzo Maresca made five substitutions, but Joao Félix was left unplayed.
What others may deride as an excess of wealth, the Blues feel are set up for success, and club insiders feel a top-four finish is a realistic goal.
