Enzo Maresca revealed how Brighton caught Chelsea off guard in the first half of their defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Chelsea secured their third consecutive Premier League win and fourth in all competitions, triumphing over the Seagulls in a thrilling encounter.
Cole Palmer once again stole the spotlight, making Premier League history by becoming the first player to score four goals in the first half of a match, including a stunning free kick.
The first half was a spectacle, featuring six goals, but Chelsea initially struggled, finding themselves a goal down early in the game before mounting a comeback.
In his post-match comments, Maresca explained that the Blues had difficulty off the ball because Brighton had “changed something” in their strategy.
“Off the ball, we struggled in the first-half because they surprised us,” he told reporters.
“They changed something.
“On the ball, the game was exactly the way we planned in the first-half and second-half.
“Then at half-time, we adjusted a little bit the way we were pressing.
“In the second-half, we didn’t concede nothing in terms of chances.
“In the first-half, we conceded two goals and then some moments.
“The reason why was because they surprised us a little bit with the way they played on the ball.”
Enzo Maresca added: “The two goals we conceded – the first one is a mistake, the second was not about trying to play from the back.
“It was more about reading the moment.
“We were 1-0 down and then we were 3-1 up.
“In that moment we didn’t need to take any risks.
“It’s more for them to take risks not us.
“I said to Robert and I said to the players, from now we are going to concede 10 more goals like the way we conceded that second goal, because it is the way we want to play, and we’ve already scored goals with Robert involved in the build-up.
“But it’s important that after the mistake the team completely continued the same way.
“That means they enjoy it, they like it and they see that also we will win games playing like that.”
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