There was something in the Stamford Bridge air, born from Brighton’s high line and resulting in mistakes Chelsea both capitalised on and made themselves.
In a breathless opening 45 minutes, it was telling that an historic contribution from Cole Palmer, who became the first player to score four goals in a Premier League first half, only told some of the story.
It was all beautiful chaos. A highlight reel lasting an entire half. And though that pace continued into the second, it soon tailed off to leave Palmer with all four Chelsea goals and a win that takes them up to fourth.
“I should have had five or six,” Palmer said. “When I missed the first chance I was upset but with the way they played and their high line I felt we’d get more chances.
“The manager set up a good game plan, we knew how to attack them with first-time passes in behind.”
There is now a spring in the Chelsea step. Three straight wins in the league have lifted them to heights they weren’t reaching under Mauricio Pochettino, and for all the jokes about their squad size and a summer where incomings arrived like clowns from a car, only their own supporters are laughing now.
Enzo Maresca had no time for the deadwood, the hands-on head coach unwilling to train players he had no intention of using, and his blinkered thinking had a purpose that is bearing fruit: a streamlined yet competitive handful of attackers who are all pushing to start.
“I’ll be honest with all of them,” Maresca said on Friday, mainly addressing the welcome Nicolas Jackson versus Christopher Nkunku conundrum he has up front.
“I’ve said to them since day one we cannot play with seven or eight attacking players otherwise there is no defensive balance.”
With an embarrassment of riches in attack, it should be no surprise to see Chelsea are clicking in this regard. Palmer’s four-goal haul against Brighton made the Blues the leading scorers in the Premier League this season, their 15 now above Manchester City’s 14.
Palmer (six) now trails Erling Haaland (10) alone in the scoring charts, while Chelsea now boast three players among the top six for assists: Palmer himself on four, while Jackson and Jadon Sancho both have three.
Sancho, notably, has three in just three appearances since joining from Manchester United on loan, and looks to have locked down a starting role under Maresca.
Noni Madueke’s position meanwhile feels a little more fragile, the forward at times a tad more selfish than some of his teammates, but that is merely a minor concern for Maresca, who can call on Pedro Neto instead. Jackson’s reaction to being substituted for Nkunku was also telling, his stony face after one assist but no goals speaking volumes of how vital he knows it is to keep on contributing to the cause.
This is healthy, though, and because of this Chelsea have the makings of top-four contenders.
It would be easy to get carried away, especially with Liverpool far from flawless, Manchester City without Rodri and Arsenal almost stumbling against Leicester, but it is difficult to escape the feeling that Chelsea are outside the group of serious title contenders simply because of their defence.
It is relatively settled in terms of personnel – goalkeeper Robert Sanchez plus defenders Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana and Marc Cucurella have started all six league games – but at times they look anything but on the pitch.
A string of bad decisions gifted Brighton the first goal, while Sanchez was at fault for the second, two blots for Chelsea on an otherwise enjoyable afternoon.
Maresca was undeterred by the errors. “The two goals we conceded can happen,” he said. “The important thing is the team continue in the same way, creating many chances. We are happy.”
He does though need to address this problem, especially as Chelsea have conceded more goals than the three teams above them.
Nevertheless, with two more home games on the horizon before the international break – at home to Gent on Thursday then Nottingham Forest on Sunday – there is every chance this bounce will continue into their trip to leaders Liverpool on 20 October.
“We are ahead in my expectation in the way we want to play,” Maresca added, and should he find a way to sift out those defensive mistakes, what is left could be a team that targets the top four as the absolute bare minimum.
In this form, that is comfortably within their grasp.
