"We are giving away presents": Enzo Maresca frustrated after Chelsea collapse to Brighton

Chelsea were in full control during the first half at Stamford Bridge, taking the lead in the 24th minute through Enzo Fernandez's header. But the match turned in the 53rd minute when Trevoh Chalobah was sent off for denying a goalscoring opportunity after a poor back pass from Andrey Santos allowed Brighton's Diego Gomez through on goal.

Brighton took full advantage of the extra man late in the game. Danny Welbeck equalised in the 77th minute, Maxim De Cuyper put the visitors ahead during stoppage time, and Welbeck added a second to seal the result in the dying moments.

"The message is clear: against any team in the Premier League, you cannot continue to give away presents," Maresca said post-match. "We are giving away presents. The red card is a big mistake because the game completely changed.

"It's a tough one because we were in control of the game.

"We scored one, we could have scored more. We had so many shots in the first half, 70 percent of possession - everything was fine. Then suddenly, because of our mistake, the plan completely changed."

The red card was Chelsea's second in consecutive league matches, following goalkeeper Robert Sanchez's early dismissal in the 2-1 loss at Manchester United the previous weekend.

"For sure, you can't continue to make mistakes. They are big, game-changing mistakes - red card against United, and today again," Maresca continued. "We need to learn, and we need to learn quickly."

Chelsea were booed off the pitch at full-time and have now gone three Premier League matches without a win. They drop to eighth in the table ahead of a difficult fixture against league leaders Liverpool on October 4.

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