Brighton Sends Chelsea Packing from FA Cup with Mitoma’s Decisive Goal

Kaoru Mitoma secured Brighton & Hove Albion’s thrilling 2-1 comeback win against Premier League rivals Chelsea, propelling the south-coast side into the fifth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

The match began on a sour note for Brighton as goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen inadvertently handed Chelsea a fifth-minute advantage by fumbling a cross from Cole Palmer into his own net.

However, the hosts quickly equalised, with Georginio Rutter finding the net just seven minutes later through a well-placed header.

After the break, Brighton dominated the play, and Japanese winger Mitoma clinched the victory in the 57th minute with an exquisite flicked finish over Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez.

This defeat marks a continued struggle for Chelsea, who have been unable to secure an away win in any competition since early December. Under manager Enzo Maresca, their only realistic path to silverware this season lies in the UEFA Conference League.

Although Brighton have shown inconsistency in the league under their 31-year-old manager Fabian Hurzeler, they responded impressively to last week’s 7-0 loss to Nottingham Forest, especially after such a shaky start.

“It’s encouraging to see everyone come together and display their fighting spirit,” said Brighton winger Tariq Lamptey.

“We demonstrated our unity and managed to turn things around.”

Initially, things appeared bleak for the home side when Palmer struck a volley that Verbruggen fumbled into his own net.

Fortunately for Brighton, Rutter helped erase Verbruggen’s mistake shortly afterwards, converting Joel Veltman’s cross from the right past two Chelsea defenders with a precise header into the back of the net.

Brighton’s winner was not without its controversies, as some questioned whether there was a handball in the lead-up before Mitoma calmly elevated his finish beyond Sanchez.