Mykhailo Mudryk scored his first goal for Chelsea, and Christopher Nkunku maintained his impressive preseason form, as the Blues defeated 10-man Brighton 4-3 in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Brighton grabbed the lead in the 13th minute via Danny Welbeck but Chelsea levelled with Nkunku’s second goal in as many games on their US trip.
This fascinating game was in the balance until Jan Paul van Hecke was sent off on the hour mark for a reckless second bookable offence, and Chelsea took advantage of their numerical advantage with three goals in 11 minutes from Mudryk, Conor Gallagher, and Nicolas Jackson.
Brighton recovered with a 79th-minute penalty converted by Joo Pedro and a minute from time by fellow replacement Deniz Undav, but Chelsea held on for their second straight win under new boss Mauricio Pochettino in front of 65,128 supporters at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Argentine made seven changes to the squad that defeated Wrexham 5-0 in North Carolina on Saturday, bringing in senior players Kepa Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Ben Chilwell, while Nkunku made his debut after his £52 million signing from RB Leipzig.
Brighton dominated possession early on and took the lead on 13 minutes when former Blues midfielder Billy Gilmour crossed to the far post, where Kaoru Mitoma headed the ball back into the path of Welbeck, who finished off the underside of the crossbar from eight yards out.
Chelsea just needed six minutes to react. Chilwell found Carney Chukwuemeka, who played a fast one-two with Ian Maatsen.
Chukwuemeka then attempted to cross, but his effort ricocheted off Gilmour, allowing Nkunku to score easily from close range. Chelsea had just one shot on goal in the first half, and Pochettino made four substitutions at the break, replacing Silva, Chilwell, Chukwuemeka, and Maatsen with Mudryk, Marc Cucurella, Cesare Casadei, and Trevoh Chalobah.
Brighton also made four replacements, including the lively Mahmoud Dahoud, but they remained the more dangerous side, with Welbeck having a shot stopped by Gallagher inside the box immediately after the restart.
Van Hecke was sent off for a second bookable offence just after the hour mark, giving the game a new twist. Preseason red cards are uncommon, but referee Robert Jones had little choice when the Dutchman scythed down Casadei on the touchline.
Mudryk assisted Chelsea in taking full advantage. Driving infield from the left, the £89m signing from Shakhtar Donetsk swapped passes twice with Jackson, who had been brought as a replacement seconds before, before smashing home a low finish from the outside of the box.
On 72 minutes, Jackson provided another assist by pushing a loose ball in the area through to Gallagher, who converted a third.
The Senegal striker, a £32 million summer transfer from Villarreal, then collected Cucurella’s through pass and fired high into the net for his first goal for Chelsea.
Levi Colwill, who is a target for Brighton after spending last season on loan with Roberto De Zerbi’s side, then fouled replacement Pedro in the area, and the Brazilian striker scored the penalty.
Brighton pressed on, and with Chelsea’s defence in disarray, Pedro found Undav in the 89th minute, and the German directed a shot past Arrizabalaga.
Pochettino will consider Nkunku’s sharpness in front of goal, Andrey Santos’ brilliant midfield play, Mudryk’s fantastic strike, and Jackson’s astute link-up play as positives when Chelsea resume their Premier League Summer Series campaign against Newcastle United in Atlanta on Wednesday.
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