Mauricio Pochettino was forced to mediate on Sunday as his Chelsea players tangled with Brighton after the full-time whistle at Stamford Bridge. A lengthy VAR consulation in second-half stoppage-time offered the Seagulls hope, but the hosts did enough to see out a nail-biting 3-2 win.
Tensions boiled over following a back-and-forth contest which took fans on a white-knuckle ride in west London. A brace from Enzo Fernandez and a Levi Colwill header proved enough to get Chelsea over the line on home turf, despite Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro netting for the visitors.
The Seagulls were widely expected to fight their way back into the game after Conor Gallagher’s red card, which left the Blues a man light and only one goal up at the break.
It wasn’t until stoppage time that Pedro pulled it back to 3-2, but there was still time for more drama as referee Craig Pawson was called over to the pitchside monitor for a handball check against Colwill.
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