Brighton subject Chelsea and Rosenior to fifth league defeat in a row without scoring

Cucurella, Caicedo and Sánchez, all former Brighton players, were loudly jeered by home fans enjoying their team, full of invention and confidence. Sánchez railed at his defence, only previously used in this formation under Rosenior in the Carabao Cup against Arsenal, after making a save from Jan Paul van Hecke’s header. That midfield trio, combined transfer value over £270m, were not providing little defensive cover, the wing-backs unable to stop Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh.

Would Brighton rue Hinshelwood failing to beat Trevor Chalobah’s lunging block on the line after a Sánchez mistake? Chelsea’s best-case scenario was Brighton failing to make the most of their dominance, as has been a shortcoming. Having passed 400 minutes without a Premier League goal, that also asked for massive improvements from Chelsea. Rosenior, hands in pockets except for his customary claps, held a terse discussion with Lavia.

His team were playing right into the hands of Hürzeler’s high-press, quick transition dream scenario, but they did manage to slow the first-half direction of travel by making the game bitty, full of stoppages. The main creative outlet appeared to be Sánchez’s goal kicks, a number of which went straight out of play. At last, their first shot arrived in the 41st minute, Chalobah’s effort blocked by onrushing Brighton bodies.

The half-time introduction of Alejandro Garnacho was risky considering his low-quality performance against Manchester United. A 4-2-3-1 formation was adopted, Wesley Fofana the player removed. Those moments in the dressing room were surely among the most important of Rosenior’s short reign. How many more half-time team talks will he get to give? Will Sunday at Wembley be one of them? A small but audible section of away fans made their feelings known in no uncertain terms. They would get louder and more numerous. At least the second half began with a shot, lofted over by Lavia.

Restored to a more suitable formation, Chelsea’s improvement was clear but the better chances still fell to Brighton, Mitoma dragging wide, Minteh slapping the ball off Cucurella’s arm, though too high for video assistance to intervene. After a similar ruling followed when the ball came off Minteh, and Chelsea players complained, Brighton seized on attention being diverted. Georginio Rutter broke clear and picked out Hinshelwood to slot past Sánchez.

Chelsea’s improvement, such as it was, had been squandered by the same lapses of concentration of which Rosenior complains but has found no cure. Mitoma fired two efforts in and Kadioglu galloped forward again to shoot on goal. Sánchez was keeping the score down but the mood among away fans had taken a dark turn, as manager and co-owner, Behdad Eghbali, sat in the stands, were both called out.

Rosenior did at least receive some backing, though that came from Brighton fans fondly recalling him as a player during their rise. How soon until his Chelsea reign is a memory?