Chelsea’s potent attacking trio extended Xabi Alonso’s flawless beginning at Stamford Bridge, securing a dramatic 4-3 victory against Brighton on Sunday, while Leeds battled back to earn a 1-1 draw with Brentford.
Joao Pedro, Morgan Rogers, and Cole Palmer found the net as Alonso’s tenure began with a 3-2 triumph over Fulham on Monday.
Pedro and Palmer struck again, while Rogers provided the assist for Pedro Neto’s second goal, helping the Blues hold off Brighton’s late charge that threatened to snatch a point.
Emi Martinez was thrown straight into goal for his Chelsea debut mere hours after completing his move from Aston Villa, becoming the first player over 30 to start a league match for the Blues in over two years.
“I came here to challenge myself and aim to win the Premier League,” Martinez told Sky Sports.
However, there was no spot for his Argentina teammate Enzo Fernandez, who could still depart for Manchester City before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.
Brighton had surged to a 4-0 lead within 31 minutes against Villa last weekend, but this time they found themselves three goals behind in just over half an hour.
Romeo Lavia capitalized on a mix-up between Bart Verbruggen and Mats Wieffer to prod in the opening goal from a corner.
Neto then turned in Rogers’s cross before Pedro completed a brilliant Chelsea counter-attack that started inside their own box.
Martinez was beaten moments later by a blistering volley from Malick Yalcouye, pulling Brighton back into the contest.
Yalcouye was involved again as Pedro turned Pascal Gross’s cross into his own net just after the hour mark.
Diego Gomez fired just wide and Martinez denied Olivier Boscagli an equaliser as Chelsea suddenly found themselves clinging on.
But a moment of brilliance from Palmer sparked wild celebrations for Alonso as he curled the ball into the bottom corner from outside the box after a solo run through Brighton’s defense.
Overlooked by England manager Thomas Tuchel for the World Cup, Palmer has begun the season in top form, offering Chelsea hope that they could challenge for a first league title since 2016/17.
Gross headed in a stoppage-time consolation for Brighton, but Chelsea join City and Hull as the only two sides to take six points from their opening two matches.
Rashford returns
Brentford were on course to maintain their perfect start when Kevin Schade’s audacious flick opened the scoring away at Leeds.
However, Dominic Calvert-Lewin turned in Lukas Nmecha’s driven cross to salvage a point and preserve Leeds’s unbeaten start to the campaign.
Sunderland got off the mark with a 1-0 victory over Fulham thanks to Wilson Isidor’s winner 15 minutes from time.
Manchester United aim to bounce back from their opening‑weekend defeat at Hull against another newly promoted side, Ipswich, at Old Trafford later.
Marcus Rashford makes his first start for the Red Devils in nearly two years after loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona, as one of four changes made by Michael Carrick.
