Brighton were rampant, merciless and utterly brilliant. They exhibited many of the better traits of their former manager, playing with style, intelligence and tactical flexibility, but this was no tribute act. It was Potterball with a De Zerbian flourish and, as Chelsea left the pitch to the sound of mockery ringing in their ears at full-time, nobody inside the Amex Stadium could have made the mistake of thinking that Brighton were pining for the past.
There was no room for any sentiment. Watching from an unfamiliar spot in the away dugout, Graham Potter found himself powerless to silence the jeers. Nothing was going to deny Roberto De Zerbi his first win as Brighton’s manager and, once the dust had settled, it was left to Potter to question his tactics, wonder why control had eluded Chelsea and even suggest that his use of Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic as wing-backs had left him looking “a bit of a fool”.
