Chelsea grabbed a crucial Premier League victory over Brighton, due primarily to Cole Palmer’s outstanding effort. However, the encounter has put one of Enzo Maresca’s players in a difficult situation for the future. This afternoon at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won 4-2 over Brighton, but Maresca will keep a careful eye on one player as a result of the events of the day.
The first half was dominated by strong attacking play, with Brighton’s Georginio Rutter scoring first. Then it was Cole Palmer’s show, as the 22-year-old scored twice, sandwiched by a Carlos Baleba response to give Chelsea a two-goal lead at halftime. Palmer scored a penalty and a fantastic free kick that curled into the top right corner of Bart Verbruggen’s goal. While Marc Cucurella appeared to have added another goal for Chelsea, VAR ruled it offside.
Cucurella’s performance took an unexpected turn when he collected a yellow card in the 33rd minute against his former team, increasing his season total to four cautions after only six games, having previously been cautioned against Wolves, Bournemouth, and West Ham. Maresca acted promptly, substituting Cucurella to avoid further problems, but this presents a difficulty for the manager in the future, particularly considering the Premier League’s yellow card accumulation restrictions. Players who receive five yellow cards within the first 19 matches are automatically suspended for one match.
Although Chelsea is not quite there, Cucurella always walks a narrow line when he plays. His next league appearance might be against Nottingham Forest, and if he receives another yellow card, he will miss the important trip to Anfield to face Liverpool following the international break. Following that, Chelsea confronts a difficult schedule, with games against Newcastle United, Manchester United, and Arsenal. Renato Veiga is now stepping in for Cucurella, while Ben Chilwell strives to regain match fitness in order to return to Maresca’s plans.
