Mauricio Pochettino spoke of his pride after watching Chelsea cling on with 10 men to earn a battling 3-2 win against Brighton at Stamford Bridge.
Captain Conor Gallagher was sent off late in the first half with the hosts leading 2-1, leaving them facing an uphill battle to hold off a fightback from Roberto De Zerbi’s side.
Chelsea had looked to be heading in at half-time two goals to the good, Enzo Fernandez and Levi Colwill each heading in their first Premier League goals three minutes apart to open up a commanding lead but Brighton halved the deficit through Facundo Buonanotte before Gallagher was shown a second yellow card.
The visitors’ fightback was curtailed midway through the second half when Mykhailo Mudryk, in for Cole Palmer who had picked up a knock in training, raced through on goal and drew a foul from James Milner, a penalty awarded following a pitchside review and a second goal for Fernandez clipped home from 12 yards.
Brighton battled gamely against a determined Chelsea rearguard and a goal headed in by substitute Joao Pedro breathed life into the contest at the start of 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Then in the final seconds, referee Craig Pawson was called pitchside again to adjudicate on a possible handball inside the box against Colwill. This time the call was no penalty, and Chelsea saw out the win to banish memories of last weekend’s 4-1 defeat by Newcastle.
“It wasn’t a sending off,” said Pochettino. “That is my opinion. Maybe I am wrong. This type of period where you are building something, it always happens. We are a young team. I want to clarify – not we are young players, we are a young team.
“We need to improve, we need to learn. The Premier League is the best in the world. We have too many players that need to feel what it means to play in the Premier League. We were a little bit more aggressive after Newcastle where we didn’t show our real face.
“We wanted to play well, to be aggressive and show we care. I think the team was really good, I feel proud. After Newcastle it was tough, and a team like Brighton is always difficult to play.
“I am so proud of the players and the character that they showed. I told them at half-time, ‘it’s 2-1 to us, it’s a great opportunity for us – now we need to show that we are a team’.”
The win was the first in six attempts that Chelsea have managed against Brighton in the league, and was notable for a standout performance from Mudryk who has looked increasingly at home in west London this season after a difficult first six months.
Pochettino reiterated the need for young players like the Ukrainian to feel settled before they can be expected to produce on the pitch.
“It’s not only about building the way that you want to play, your philosophy on the pitch,” he said. “Before that, you need to belong to the team, you need to belong to the club, to settle yourself.
“You need to grow, need to get experience. Too many things before you can talk about playing from the back, or play with three or four offensive players, or with three or five at the back. That comes in after.”
Brighton boss De Zerbi reflected on a game he felt his team did not deserve to lose.
“It’s hard because I think we played much better than Chelsea,” he said. “We made three big mistakes, two set-pieces in the first half and we conceded the third goal in an incredible way.
“It was a clear penalty for them, but we can’t concede a counter-attack in that way (from) a corner for us. In that way we are young, but we need to be more focused in that situation and at set-pieces.”
Kompany targeting Champions League top eight despite stuttering start
Vincent Kompany is eyeing a place in the top eight of the new Champions League format with Bayern Munich despite back-to-back losses in the competition.
Bayern welcome Benfica to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, hoping to recover from defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona, the first time they have failed to win consecutive games in the competition since April 2017.
Kompany's started their Champions League campaign with a 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb, but have since plummeted down the new league table.
They find themselves 23rd after three matches. However, they have fared better in the Bundesliga, sitting three points clear at the top of the table after nine games.
"What we know is you have to win around six (of eight) games to reach the top eight," Kompany said.
"You have to win three games and that should be enough for the playoffs. My goal is to reach the top eight."
Bayern last failed to reach the Champions League knockout stages in 2002-03, finishing bottom of a group that featured Deportivo La Coruna, Lens and Milan.
But despite their stuttering start in the competition so far, Kompany said the new format plays no role in the team's planning.
"I don't want to think too far ahead because we have enough games," Kompany said.
"We have to win against Benfica. I don't want to spend too much time thinking about what could happen in January.
"No one knows how it will work. We only know we want to win tomorrow. We play at home. That is my only goal."
Bayern, however, have every confidence of getting their European campaign back on track, with the German outfit boasting an impressive record against Benfica.
They have played 12 major European matches against Benfica and have never lost (W9 D3).
But Bruno Lage's side will be looking to buck that trend, having beaten Atletico Madrid and Red Star Belgrade so far, but they did lose to Feyenoord last time out.
"We have a lot of confidence going into this game. We will always adapt and take the steps that are right for the team," Kompany said.
"But to say we will change everything is not serious. We just want to win again at home.
Benzema: Mbappe must adapt to Madrid role and forget 'best in world' Vinicius
Kylian Mbappe must learn to play as a central striker at Real Madrid because he cannot displace Vinicius Junior on the left wing.
Those were the words of Los Blancos' second-highest scorer of all time, Karim Benzema.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 14 appearances in all competitions for Madrid since his move from Paris Saint-Germain, but has failed to score in his last five games.
The 26-year-old has been deployed in a more central role since under Carlo Ancelotti, as opposed to the wide role where he enjoyed success with the Parisiens.
"The problem, in my opinion, is that [Mbappe] is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a number nine he doesn't feel right, because that's not his position," Benzema said on Spanish television show El Chiringuito.
"On the left, he's got a guy who's at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem.
"You can't play Vinicius as a number nine or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game.
"Mbappe isn't a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he's under a lot of pressure, this isn't Paris Saint-Germain."
The France captain has underperformed his expected goals (xG) figure in LaLiga by 1.75 this term, recording a shot conversion rate of just 18.18% from his 33 total attempts.
He has also missed seven big chances, with only Real Betis duo Abde Ezzalzouli and Vitor Roque (both eight) and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski (11) wasting more in LaLiga.
In Madrid's last game, a 4-0 Clasico defeat, Mbappe recorded just 27 touches. Only Aurelien Tchouameni (24) registered fewer among those who started the encounter.
Benzema also endured a difficult start to life in the Spanish capital, netting just nine goals in his 33 appearances in all competitions in his debut season after his move from Lyon.
He would, however, go on to become one of Madrid's best ever players, scoring 354 times in 648 outings, a total that puts him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (450) in the club's history.
Benzema won 25 major honours during his time at the club, also scooping the Ballon d'Or in 2022, and had some advice for his compatriot moving forward.
"Don't give up, because I don't think he's going to push Vinicius to move. He's the best player in the world at the moment," Benzema added.
"Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he's a number nine, and forget about the left flank for a while."
Mbappe will be back in action for Madrid on Tuesday when they face Milan in the Champions League.
Luis Enrique in awe of Simeone energy ahead of reunion
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique was full of praise for his former rival Diego Simeone as he prepares to go head-to-head with the Atletico Madrid boss in the Champions League.
PSG and Atletico, who reached the semi-finals and the quarter-finals respectively last season, will face off on Wednesday having both won just one of their three league-phase games.
A home victory would boost PSG, currently 19th with four points, while Atletico, languishing in 27th on three, are aiming to recover from back-to-back losses.
PSG have never faced Atletico in the Champions League before but Luis Enrique's Barcelona defeated Simeone's Atletico side nine times in their 14 meetings between 2014 and 2017, drawing twice and losing three times.
Luis Enrique led Barca to a Champions League and LaLiga double in 2014-15 followed by another league title the following year.
"We've played against each other as players and then as managers. I admire Simeone, when a coach can stay for so many years at a top club it means he is great because that is such a difficult thing to do," Luis Enrique told reporters on Tuesday.
Simeone has managed Atletico for 13 years, guiding them to two LaLiga titles and two Europa League crowns, though the Madrid side had considered hiring Luis Enrique prior to Simeone's arrival.
"I had given my word to another club. If I had gone to Atleti, I would not have stayed half as long as Simeone because I don't have the energy as him," added Luis Enrique.
"They are lucky to have found Simeone as a coach. You need a lot of energy, to be able to convince all your players over the long-term."
PSG, having lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the close season, have just two goals in their three Champions League games, beating Girona 1-0 but drawing 1-1 with PSV and losing 2-0 at Arsenal.
"I have no doubt we can improve in defence and attack, whether it is with the defender duos of Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, or Milan Skriniar and Lucas Beraldo, or in the midfield," Luis Enrique said.
"I understand you want to discuss individual players, but we analyse things from a broader perspective.
"What interests me is to always generate goalscoring opportunities and to arrive in the penalty area because you have managed to be stronger than your opponent.
"That is my objective as a coach: to always generate opportunities."
Close-season signing Matvey Safonov, who kept a clean sheet in their opening win against Girona, might replace number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, whose mistakes proved costly at Arsenal and against PSV.
"You will find out tomorrow. After a good cup of cappuccino, I will decide who the goalkeeper is," Luis Enrique said.
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