4 Things We Learned As Chelsea Thrashed Brighton 4-0

Chelsea eased to a 4-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion thanks to goals from Eden Hazard (two), Willian and Victor Moses.

Below are four talking points from the Amex Stadium.

1. Chelsea back to their best in 3-4-2-1

Antonio Conte has switched between 3-4-2-1 and 3-5-1-1 formations throughout this season. The latter serves a purpose in the bigger games – it worked to great effect in the 2-1 win at Tottenham in August, for instance – but Chelsea have run into difficulties when using it in recent weeks. It was therefore no surprise to see the Blues revert to the system which won them the title last term – and the change paid dividends.

Willian and Hazard linked up superbly, evading the attention of opposition markers by regularly taking up positions on the outside of Brighton’s central midfielders. With the hosts’ wing-backs pushed back by their Chelsea counterparts, this allowed the visitors’ two inside-forwards to collect possession in pockets of space, and they duly took full advantage. The second goal was particularly impressive, Willian finishing off a fine move involving himself, Hazard and Michy Batshuayi.

2. Brighton’s back three struggles to cope with Blues’ forwards

Chris Hughton opted for a back three here in an attempt to contain Chelsea’s forward line. The Seagulls could not live with Hazard, Willian and Batshuayi early on, though, and while they did not play as badly as the scoreline suggests, the damage was done inside the first 10 minutes.

Connor Goldson and Lewis Dunk, the two outside centre-backs, did not know whether to push up and close down Willian and Hazard, or hold their positions and risk the pair picking up the ball unchallenged. The two Chelsea men were intelligent with their movement and interplay, and Brighton were simply unable to get a handle on them for much of the encounter.

3. Could Batshuayi’s display force Conte into a rethink over striker pursuit?

Batshuayi got on the scoresheet in the midweek FA Cup third round replay against Norwich City, but his all-round showing was not particularly good. On Saturday, conversely, he failed to find the net but offered a great deal more in open play.

This was far from a perfect performance from the Belgian, who was a little sloppy in possession in the second half. His hold-up play was generally much improved, however, and he showed some great touches in tight areas – none more so than in the build-up to Willian’s goal. Chelsea continue to be linked with targetmen centre-forwards such as Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch, but perhaps Batshuayi’s display here will force Conte into a rethink.

4. Locadia will be relied upon for goals

Brighton were unfortunate not to be awarded at least one penalty in the first half, with Ezequiel Schelotto – who impressed with his forward surges from right wing-back – brought down twice by Willy Caballero and Tiemoue Bakayoko. They also caused problems from set-pieces and open-play crosses, but the bottom line is that this was a 13th Premier League game in which Albion failed to put the ball in the back of the net.

The signing of striker Jurgen Locadia is promising, but the Dutchman will be required to hit the ground running following his switch from PSV. If Brighton are to stay up, they need to improve upon their average of 0.71 goals per game – the worst attacking record in the division.