Chelsea played the entirety of the second half with 10 men as they clung on to defeat Brighton 3-2 after a tense finale at Stamford Bridge.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were already two up thanks to headers from Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill when Conor Gallagher was shown a second yellow card for fouling Billy Gilmour in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
Moments before Gallagher’s dismissal, Facundo Buonanotte had pulled Brighton back into it at 2-1 with swinging strike inside the post, and the stage looked set for a fightback by the visitors.
Instead, it was Chelsea that reasserted their charge, Fernandez converting from the spot midway through the second half after the excellent Mykhailo Mudryk had been fouled.
Joao Pedro came off the bench to head a goal back at the start of a lengthy period of added time, before Chelsea survived a penalty scare for a possible handball against Colwill with virtually the game’s final action.
This was a statement win from Pochettino’s team. Not only was it a first league victory in six attempts against Brighton, it came after their captain had been sent off after 45 minutes, and with arguably their best player this season,, Cole Palmer, starting the game on the bench, a knock sustained in training on Saturday meaning he was fit only to emerge once his team were 3-1 up.
The opening goal came after good work from Palmer’s replacement Mudryk, taking a high, looping pass down well with his chest and crossing cleverly to win a corner. From the resulting ball in, Benoit Badiashile showed balance and poise to take charge at the back post and hooked a ball into the six-yard box from which Fernandez rose to nod home his first Premier League goal.
Igor Julio needed to be alert with a sliding interception to prevent a certain goal for Nicolas Jackson, but after the defender had poked the ball behind for another corner Brighton were caught out again with a near identical routine.
This time it was Jackson keeping the move alive at the back post, arcing the ball back into middle and onto the head of Colwill, who despite a brave effort from Gilmour to hook the ball back from behind the line would not be denied his first Chelsea goal.
Mudryk looked as confident as he has been in Chelsea blue and nearly made it three before half-time, beating Joel Veltman on the turn with a dazzling first touch in midfield and driving at the heart of Brighton, only to see his fizzing 30-yard drive fly inches past the post.
Instead it was Brighton in whose favour the game turned before the break. First, the coolest of strikes from Buonanotte halved the arrears, the Argentinean lashing the ball inside the far post with his left foot after Simon Adingra and Adam Lallana had combined to pick him out.
Then in stoppage time at the end of the half, a more serious setback for Pochettino, his captain Gallagher shown a second yellow card for sliding in late on Gilmour, and Chelsea would play the second 45 minutes with 10 men.
Brighton emerged determined to make their numerical advantage count. Adingra was a growing threat playing high on the left, most notably in the 55th minute when he crossed for Lallana who took a touch and hooked narrowly wide.
Roberto De Zerbi gambled, making four substitutions in one swoop, whilst Pochettino looked to his depleted bench and prepared Palmer.
Yet before Chelsea’s appointed penalty taker could take to the pitch, the brilliant Mudryk won a spot-kick, outpacing the recently arrived James Milner before being shouldered to the ground. A pitchside VAR check was required for referee Craig Pawson to make the call, and Fernandez showed his own credentials from 12 yards for 3-1.
Ten minutes of stoppage time had been announced by the time substitute Pedro rose to glance a header across goal and in at the far post to give Brighton hope.
Then at the death, Pawson was called pitchside once more to adjudicate on handball against Colwill.
The evidence seemed to show the ball strike the defender’s face, as Stamford Bridge breathed a sigh of collective relief.
Sevilla 1-2 Barcelona: Bittersweet farewell for Xavi as Barca end season with a win
Barcelona ended the season with a 2-1 victory at Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday, making departing coach Xavi's farewell bittersweet after a trophy-less season.
La Blaugrana came out all guns blazing from the start and took the lead in the 15th minute through Robert Lewandowski who scored from close range after latching onto Joao Cancelo's cross.
Sevilla levelled with Youssef En-Nesyri's strike in the 31st minute and went close again but failed to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen before Barca got the winner on the hour through Fermin Lopez.
Barca were already guaranteed second place going into Xavi's final game. The Spaniard was sacked on Friday, after a disappointing campaign in which they lost the Spanish Supercopa final to Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final.
Data Debrief: A legend departs
Xavi never lost any of his six games as a manager against Sevilla in LaLiga (W5 D1), making them just the third opponent that he faced six times without defeat (also W5 D1 against Real Mallorca and Osasuna).
Fermin got the all-important goal to ensure Xavi's tenure ended on a high note. He has scored seven goals in LaLiga in 2024, a record surpassed by only one other Spanish player in Europe's top five leagues this year: Iago Aspas (eight).
Verona 2-2 Inter: Arnautovic double earns point for Serie A winners
Champions Inter end their Serie A season with a 2-2 draw against Verona thanks to a Marko Arnautovic double.
The Austrian opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a neat finish, but Inter were soon pegged back as Tijjani Noslin equalised six minutes later.
The Dutchman then set up Tomas Suslov for their second to turn the game on its head, but another smart finish from Arnautovic on the stroke of half-time ensured they would salvage a point.
Simone Perilli proved the hero for Verona in the end, pulling off a string of fine saves to keep his side level.
Data Debrief: Landmark for Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi has now earned 250 points as a coach in Serie A with Inter, an achievement only Roberto Mancini has reached so far with the Nerazzurri in the three-points-per-win era (436). This draw takes him up to the landmark after 77 wins and 19 draws (18 losses).
After winning the Scudetto with five games to go, Inzaghi has led Inter to 94 points in Serie A, with only three teams ever earning more points in a single campaign in the competition in the three-points-per-win era: Inter in 2006-07 (97) and Juventus in 2013-14 (102) and 2017-18 (95).
Bonucci calls time on glittering career
Leonardo Bonucci has called time on his glittering career, after playing his final game for Fenerbahce.
The decorated defender announced on Saturday that he would retire at the end of the Turkish Super Lig season, which concluded with Ismail Kartal's side inflicting a 6-0 rout on Istanbulspor.
However, it was not quite enough to snatch the title from Galatasaray, who finished three points clear after a 3-1 victory at Konyaspor on the final day.
Bonucci, who signed from Union Berlin in January, was given a wonderful reception as he was presented with a plaque before the game, in which he came on as a 64th-minute substitute.
The 37-year-old enjoyed the most success during his career with Juventus, where he won eight Serie A titles and reached two Champions League finals, while he helped Italy to glory at Euro 2020.
"It was a pleasure for me to be a part of this wonderful family," he said of his time at Fenerbahce on Saturday. "I tried to show my best on and off the field.
A statement on the club website paid tribute to Bonucci, reading: "It was an honour to see a legend like you in a Cubuklu jersey.
"At this special moment of your career, we would like to thank you on behalf of the entire Fenerbahce family. We wish you successful and healthy days in which you will be a part of football in your future life."
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