Chelsea OUT of FA Cup as below-par Blues throw away lead they were gifted at Brighton Last week Brighton folded like a pack of cards - but this time around they had an ace up their sleeve.
But dogged and determined Brighton, who had lost their past five encounters against the Blues prior to this valiant fightback, dug deep to secure a first home victory since early November thanks to goals in either half from Georginio Rutter and Kaoru Mitoma.
When Cole Palmer somehow squirmed home a fortuitous opener inside the opening five minutes through the body of Bart Verbruggen - his fifth strike against Albion this season - this had all the makings of yet another onslaught.
The great irony of it all was that Brighton fans had just been booing calamitous Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, sold to the Blues by Albion for £25million in 2023, only 10 seconds prior to the goal.
This time around, Fabian Hurzeler's men refused to roll over after shipping the opener and drew level just six minutes later when Rutter powerfully glanced home Joel Veltman's sublime curling cross.
