No lucky break for Lallana as Brighton bags an open-day defeat to Chelsea

Brighton fails to at least take a single point against Chelsea in their opening Premier League clash but the loss was worth more than just the three points.

The Seagulls put up a valiant fight at the Falmer Stadium when they met the club who has made the biggest summer moves. The final score 3-1 to Chelsea with Brighton losing all the points plus a key player to their campaign.

Adam Lallana‘s fresh start has been cut short and met with disappointment after the player could only manage 45 minutes of football before getting subbed off, limbing down the tunnel. He was taken off with only a minute left to play in the first half and was replaced by Aaron Connolly.

When the ex-Liverpool midfielder was on the pitch, the Blues struggled to get anything out of the game. Despite a penalty caused by poor passing at the back forcing Mathew Ryan to come off his line and cause an infringement, they were pretty much equal to the asking of the visitors.

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It took Frank Lampard’s side 20 minutes to score with Lallana on the field, with the penalty the only goal in the first half. This displays the impact the Englishman had on the game and how his presence was missed in the second half.

Following Jorginho’s goal from 12-yards out, Brighton continued to fight back and came out the hungrier of the two in the second half. Their hunger was rewarded when Leandro Trossard hit a stunner from outside the box for the equaliser and the home side’s only goal of the game.

Chelsea’s fullback Reece James replied with a goal of the same quality and range almost immediately after. Kurt Zouma’s deflection from a corner 10 minutes later was the final straw and there was no way back for the Seagulls.

Update on Lallana’s injury

The extent of the injury is still not clear but we could see him miss between three to six months. Hopefully, it isn’t as serious as this and him limping off is far more assuring than him being stretched off.

Lallana’s last full game was back in 2017 thanks to similar situations and having been dropped to a bit-part role at Anfield before leaving on a free transfer. You have to feel gutted for Adam Lallana, who has the quality to be one of Brighton’s biggest assets, sadly only if he is fit.

Not the start Graham Potter envisioned before kickoff on Monday night. The double damage that was done in this game, Ben White was also removed 10 minutes before the fulltime whistle, making way for Pascal Gross.