Brighton – Chelsea: Hürzeler Stuns Maresca Again (3-0)

Chelsea’s struggles on the road continued as they suffered a resounding 3-0 defeat to Brighton, marking back-to-back losses against Fabian Hürzeler’s side. With their closest rivals picking up points, Enzo Maresca’s team has fallen to sixth place, increasing the difficulty of securing a Champions League spot.

Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.

Enzo Maresca has been enduring a tough period in his tenure at Chelsea since December. After a blistering start to the season, the Blues’ momentum took a sharp halt. Their away form has especially dipped – failing to pick up a win on the road since their 0-0 stalemate against Everton. Brighton have had a mixed season so far. After a managerial change in the summer, Fabian Hürzeler has kept them around mid-table, which is still a decent achievement considering that teams around them have also improved. Chelsea’s struggles on the road have been evident, as they’ve now gone without a win in their last four away matches – three losses and a single draw since their Everton result.

Brighton and Chelsea faced each other just the week prior to the Premier League clash. In that tie, the Seagulls defeated the West Londoners fairly comfortably. So, their rematch was another well-anticipated affair as fans were eager to see what tactical alterations would be made, especially with Chelsea. Personnel-wise, Hürzeler made only one change. In the backline, Lewis Dunk, who picked up an injury, was replaced by Adam Webster. The rest of the team was exactly the same. Maresca, on the other hand, shuffled his team way more. In the defensive unit, Filip Jørgensen started again in the league instead of Robert Sánchez, and Levi Colwill returned to the side whilst Tosin Adarabioyo was benched. In midfield, Enzo Fernández was preferred to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Lastly, Noni Madueke featured at right wing as Pedro Neto shifted to the left flank for Jadon Sancho, who was benched. Maresca was hoping to turn his side’s fortunes around, but the result proved to be even more disheartening than their 2-1 defeat just days prior.

The opening period of the match was intriguing as Maresca employed slightly different strategies to combat Brighton, whilst Hürzeler employed similar ideas with only a tweak in intent.

Brighton’s recurring pressing approach

From the first minute, Brighton replicated their high press strategy that had proved effective in the FA Cup clash. They deployed a high press structure, with each player having man-to-man responsibilities except Yankuba Minteh, who remained between Chelsea’s left-sided midfielder, Fernández, and left-back Marc Cucurella to block direct central progression. When the visitors attempted to use the free man, Brighton seamlessly shifted into a full man-to-man press. This approach helped keep Chelsea from building out effectively and often forced them into deeper, more uncomfortable passes.

An essential part of the hosts’ success was their center-backs aggressively stepping out to challenge Chelsea’s midfielders. Webster and Jan Paul van Hecke were proactive in pressing Chelsea’s half-space players, Christopher Nkunku and Fernández, as well as false nine Cole Palmer. This ensured Chelsea had little time on the ball in deeper areas and didn’t have the freedom to dictate play from the back.

Chelsea’s build-up adaptations

To counter Brighton’s pressing structure, Maresca altered Chelsea’s build-up shape. Unlike the FA Cup tie, where Sánchez often played long balls, this time, with Jørgensen between the sticks, they played out with short passes. Furthermore, with Colwill, Cucurella, and Trevoh Chalobah in the first line, Chelsea formed a 4-2 build-up structure, as Malo Gusto inverted to sit beside Moisés Caicedo.

A crucial tweak was Gusto inverting, which opened a passing lane to the right winger. This mirrored a similar pattern on the left, though more space was available on the right due to Gusto’s movement. This helped Chelsea progress through the press more effectively than in the previous encounter.

In settled possession, Chelsea maintained their familiar 3-2-5 shape, with Palmer dropping deep to create overloads. Brighton’s response was a 4-4-2 middle block, where Kaoru Mitoma initially positioned himself deeper before engaging with the Chelsea right center-back. This ensured that Chelsea had a numerical advantage in the first phase, but once Brighton triggered their press, it became a man-to-man battle. Maresca’s game plan did show promise, especially in the early phases of possession, where Chelsea played through Brighton’s press with short passes, finding the free man and retaining possession better than they had in the FA Cup tie.

One of Chelsea’s primary offensive strategies was targeting Brighton’s high defensive line with long balls. Maresca specifically started two pacey wingers, Madueke and Neto, to exploit this potential weakness. Brighton, however, countered this effectively with the speed of Tariq Lamptey and Minteh, who tracked Chelsea’s wingers closely. You might think Chelsea could’ve tried this more down the left side, given Minteh’s natural position as a winger rather than a full-back, but his defensive awareness was solid, and he rarely got caught off guard. Nonetheless, Chelsea did continue to test his defensive capabilities, looking for opportunities to exploit any lapses.

Chelsea’s pressing strategy

Out of possession, Chelsea aimed to be proactive. The wingers initially positioned themselves on Brighton’s full-backs before curving their runs to press the center-backs. This created a hybrid pressing scheme, which transitioned into a full man-to-man press when the ball was played wide.

This approach had multiple benefits: it provided central coverage, simplified defensive duties for Nkunku, and made Chelsea a threat in forcing high turnovers. Although the execution was mostly solid, Brighton had countermeasures in place. One key adjustment was dropping a midfielder into the last line to create a three-versus-two against Chelsea’s first pressing line, allowing them to progress past the press with quick short passing combinations.

This defensive plan helped Chelsea prevent Brighton from easily building out from the back, but the overall effectiveness of the press waned as the match progressed, particularly as Brighton adapted.

Takeaways

Brighton’s superior pressing structure, defensive organization, and ability to manipulate transition moments overwhelmed Chelsea. Although Maresca’s tweaks improved Chelsea’s build-up and pressing efficiency compared to the FA Cup match, they struggled to turn possession dominance into clear-cut chances. Brighton’s execution in vital moments ultimately decided the game, exposing the continued inconsistencies in Chelsea’s performances. Chelsea’s lack of cutting-edge in the final third was especially worrying, as they created very few high-quality opportunities despite dominating possession.

For Maresca, addressing his side’s away form and ability to break down deep defensive blocks will be critical moving forward as they aim to secure a Champions League spot. The tactical adjustments were present, but the players failed to capitalize on these setups effectively. Chelsea have now dropped to sixth place in the league, as their closest rivals have picked up wins over the weekend, adding to the challenge of securing a top-four finish. Maresca will need to find ways to improve the attack, and in particular, the ability to convert possession into goals.

For Hürzeler, this victory is an important one, coming after a rough patch with back-to-back defeats before their FA Cup win against Chelsea. This will help restore momentum and confidence in the squad, providing a solid foundation for Brighton to push for a top-half finish in the Premier League. With continued improvement, they’ll look to maintain their position in the middle of the table and perhaps challenge for even higher aspirations.

As for Chelsea, it’s clear that more work is required, especially without a recognized striker in the side for this match. The lack of a clinical finisher has been a persistent issue, and the Blues are missing the ‘bite’ necessary to turn possession into goals. Although  Maresca’s tactical approach to the match was sound, the team’s inability to execute effectively in the final third continues to hold them back. The draw against Everton and subsequent defeats have left Chelsea’s Champions League aspirations hanging in the balance, with only 13 matches remaining in the season.

Much work lies ahead, but Maresca will be looking for his side to rise to the occasion before it becomes too late.

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