Enzo Maresca was active on the touchline during Chelsea’s loss to Brighton, making several substitutions after Trevoh Chalobah’s red card. One of those changes came down to cramp, though.
Chelsea have only themselves to blame for Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Brighton in the Premier League.
The Blues had taken the lead through Enzo Fernandez and were playing well before Trevoh Chalobah’s early second-half red card swung the game in Brighton’s favour. The Seagulls capitalised, scoring three times against a side down to ten men.
Despite injuries to key players like Cole Palmer, Chelsea’s starting XI was still strong enough to secure a favourable result. But for the second straight league game, they went down a man – this time with Chalobah following Robert Sanchez’s example from the Manchester United match – and made things much harder than they needed to be.
Jorrel Hato showed signs of fatigue during Brighton defeat
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca explained in his post-match press conference that 19-year-old Jorrel Hato had to be taken off late against Brighton due to cramp.
He said (via Football.London): “And then the last change, Jorrel was asking for a change because he had cramp.”
Maresca’s decision-making will be questioned again after some of his defensive changes following the red card, but the Hato switch was not just a tactical call – it was necessary.
Here is how Chelsea managed the substitutions during the match:
| Off | Minute | On |
| Andrey Santos | 54th | Josh Acheampong |
| Estevao Willian | 63rd | Malo Gusto |
| Jorrel Hato | 79th | Benoit Badiashile |
| Pedro Neto | 79th | Romeo Lavia |
Paul Merson has already suggested that Maresca could come under increased scrutiny if results do not pick up soon, so all eyes will be on how he and the squad respond from here.
Jorrel Hato’s stats against Brighton
Signed from Ajax for £37m according to BBC Sport, Jorrel Hato was making only his second Premier League start during the loss to Brighton. Given that limited experience, it is not a huge shock he was struggling with cramp by the end.
The 18-year-old has been filling in at left-back since arriving at Stamford Bridge but shifted over to centre-half this week due to a lack of fit defenders.
| Minutes played | Accurate passes | Accurate long balls | Tackles | Ground duels won | Dribbled past | Match rating |
| 79 | 46/55 (84%) | 1/4 (25%) | 1 | 2/3 (67%) | 1 | 6.6 |
There have already been suggestions that Chelsea might look to send Hato out on loan in January. But considering his age and position change, it would be far too early for the club to make any long-term decisions about him now.
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