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FULL TIME: Chelsea drop two points.

90+4min: James called for a foul just outside the area and gets a booking. Brighton’s free kick is easily caught by Kepa.

90+2min: Abraham’s in, but is offside. Shot was blocked anyway.

90min: Maupay into the book for trying to score off of an uncontested dropped ball. 4 minutes added on.

89min: Speaking of should’ve scored. At the other end, Chelsea all at sea as Brighton find Maupay at the penalty spot for a first-time striker. Kepa makes the huge save with his feet to keep things level.

88min: Abraham wins the ball and finds Hudson-Odoi in space. He takes aim with his right foot but misses the top corner by a few inches. Should’ve scored.

84min: GOAL, Brighton. The home side win a corner off Zouma and win the first header from the corner and Jahanbakhsh produces a ridiculous bit of play as he scores with an overhead kick. 1-1, and it’s been coming.

82min: Another foul by Kovačić as he pushes over his man 25 yards out, on the other side of the pitch. Yellow for the Chelsea man. Brighton’s set piece routine goes awry, fortunately.

80min: Kovačić called for a foul wide left, just outside the corner of the penalty area. In comes the ball and Connolly finds the ball in the scramble to put one towards the corner BUT KEPA’s down to make the tremendous save and push it wide.

78min: Neither team able to find the required quality to keep the ball and string together moves.

75min: Abraham, Mount, Hudson-Odoi work it around before the latter’s shot is blocked. Chelsea retain possession.

73min: Jahanbakhsh slashes one high and wild after a bit of Brighton passing in the final third.

72min: James swings in the free kick, and Bernardo heads clear, but it’s given as a goal kick instead. Kovačić on for Mount in the meantime.

71min: Rüdiger hacks clear and Abraham does really well to win the ball, hold it up, and win a free kick 3-v-1. Dunk even gets a yellow.

69min: Mount and Hudson-Odoi get half-chances at one end but are squeezed out. At the other, Zouma fouls Connolly and earns a yellow. Kepa punches half-heartedly clear from the free kick, then Chelsea charge down and block a shot.

68min: Willian and Abraham can’t quite make things work on a counter as the latter’s called for an offside. Meanwhile, Jahanbakhsh is on as Brighton’s final change.

67min: Hudson-Odoi into the action, but he can’t find space for a shot after cutting in from the left.

65min: Willian takes the corner, Brighton head clear but only as far as Pulisic. He takes a touch but can’t quite produce a good shot and is replaced by Callum Hudson-Odoi.

64min: James sees a cross blocked, then Jorginho gives the ball away but Zouma covers well and Chelsea turn upfield. Pulisic has a chance after cutting in, but Ryan saves forcing a scramble that Chelsea can’t make count. James eventually shoots from the top of the area that’s deflected for a corner.

61min: Chelsea work the ball well up the left flank and Willian turns the corner, but his cutback doesn’t find Abraham. Brighton clear and Rüdiger’s called for a foul on the halfway line, much to his displeasure.

60min: Strong defending from James to shield the ball out after Mooy tries to find Connolly with a through ball.

58min: Chelsea finding more space, but again don’t quite get the final ball correct. Kanté still manages a long shot on the turn, but it’s an easy save for the goalkeeper. At the other end, Zouma heads clear, then Rüdiger, and then Brighton eventually pump a cross straight out of the bounds.

56min: Alzate tumbles to the ground as he’s squeezed by James and Kanté, but despite the crowd’s baying, no cards are coming and rightly so. Brighton work an opportunity to shoot between Trossard and Maupay from the free kick, but the latter takes it too wide and Rüdiger shuts him down.

55min: A Mount piledriver is blocked, but Chelsea have the ball back and work it wide to Pulisic on the left. He cuts in and creates space past Mooy, but mis-hits his shot and it goes well wide of the near post.

54min: Pulisic drops a shoulder and goes for a low left-footed drive. Ryan blocks and holds on.

53min: A good throw from James is flicked on by Mount and Chelsea are in. Kanté plays wide to Azpilicueta, but the attack peters out and he eventually settles for a weak chipped cross that goes out for a goal kick, much to the frustrations of Lampard on the touchline.

52min: Brighton pushing; Rüdiger heads clear a cross from the right, but Chelsea quickly give the ball back to the home side.

47min: James in the thick of things again, leaves Bernardo in a heap, but it’s a Chelsea free kick, which leads to nothing much.

46min: Brighton restart the game, having made one change: Connolly on for Bissouma as the home side look to turn their fortunes around.

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HALF-TIME: Chelsea started well and got the early goal, but have not been able to build on that advantage. Brighton have slowly improved and finished the half with a decent spell. Next goal will be crucial in this game.

45+3min: Chelsea win the ball high up again, but Abraham cannot create space for his shot, and his layoff doesn’t find Pulisic.

45+2min: A solid spell of possession from Chelsea sees the Blues work the ball around to the left, where Kanté combines with Pulisic to create a bit of space for the latter. His left-footed shot from the corner of the area drifts just wide of the far post. Close!

45min: Brighton’s latest attack is snuffed out by Kanté. Abraham then wins a foul and allows Chelsea to play out. 3 minutes added on.

44min: Brighton come again, but Rüdiger defends well 1-v-1 on Maupay to prevent a shot and clear.

43min: Pulisic’s tackled as Chelsea push, and Brighton can counter. A cutback from the byline finds a Brighton player at the top of the box, but his shot is parried away by Kepa. Montoya’s follow-up effort flies well over the bar.

41min: Brighton maintain possession for a bit, Chelsea defend it well and Pulisic wins a throw. He’s back on the ball after the throw, but is crowded out and Abraham this time’s called for a foul as he tries to win the ball high up.

38min: Jorginho gets away with a foul in midfield, which looked more spectacular than dangerous.

36min: Mooy’s corner this time is scrambled clear, then a second ball is header clear at the near post. Chelsea’s outlet doesn’t find a target however and Brighton have it back deep.

35min: Brighton win a corner from a Zouma clearance, which Azpilicueta heads clear for another corner. Rüdiger half-clears the second corner to Bissouma on the far side. His cross is blocked by Pulisic for another corner.

32min: Chelsea play into danger instead of playing out, but Kanté wins a foul near the touchline to allow Kepa to go long and out.

31min: Chelsea come close to nicking the ball away again, but Brighton instead manage to break through the high press. Zouma defends 2-v-1 and wins a throw for Chelsea to prevent any further danger.

29min: Zouma’s called for a foul on Maupay near the half-way line. Brighton work a decent set piece, but Chelsea are alive to it and clear.

28min: Abraham nicks the ball again, and this time takes it himself, ignoring the runs either side of him. But his shot is deflected over, much to the frustration of Willian, who was wide open. Chelsea’s corner is cleared after a front post flick from Azpilicueta.

26min: Slick passing on the left flank leads to Jorginho finding Mount wide, but his left-footed cross is too close to the goalkeeper and he dives on it.

24min: Abraham tracks back to win the ball back and gets Pulisic going forward on the left, but with Abraham still working his way back up, there are no takers for his decent cross into the area.

23min: Brighton work the ball around briefly, but Kepa catches Trossard’s cross and Chelsea can look to build.

22min: After a couple minutes of treatment, Burn walks off with his left arm in a makeshift sling. Bernardo comes on.

18min: Brighton go long from a goal kick, James and Burn go for the header. James gets there first and has the advantage of the angle, and there’s a big collision which leaves Burn down on the ground. A head injury is suspected, but it turns out it’s his arm or wrist.

17min: Chelsea build and find James on the far side in acres of space once again. He runs with the ball then looks for Mount making a central run, but the deep cross/switch is just a bit too long.

16min: Willian picks up a knock from the latest uncalled foul, but it looks like he can run it off.

15min: Pulisic pushes in the left channel, playing across to Mount, but his pass wide to Kanté is cut out. Chelsea recover the ball and work it wide to Willian, who plays in James on the underlap. But his cutback is cleared ahead of a few arriving Chelsea players.

13min: Brighton look for a response, but Zouma’s alert to the danger twice. The second time he’s fouled but the referee ignores and Brighton can cross in. Chelsea eventually hacks clear.

10min: GOAL!!! AZPILICUETA!! Willian’s corner is won by Zouma at the far post, nodding back into the mixer. Abraham gets a foot to it and takes a shot, Brighton block, but Azpilicueta is there for the tap in! A stray whistle from the referee and a VAR review dull the celebrations, but the goal stands anyway. 1-0, CHELSEA!!

9min: Pulisic works the ball across, finding James, who plays in Willian, but his cross is blocked for a corner.

7min: Brighton threaten but Alzate’s shot is deflected past the far post. Chelsea have some trouble in clearing the corner, but Kepa gets the friendly call from the referee after a weak punch out in a crowd.

5min: Kanté plays a 1-2 with Willian from a throw, working left-to-right across the pitch, then finding James in acres of space pushing up. He goes for the powerdrive from the corner of the area, but gets his shot all wrong and it weakly goes wide of the near post.

4min: Willian slips past a couple in midfield and finds Abraham, but Mount overruns the layoff and Brighton can look to counter. But Chelsea recover quickly.

2min: James with a long ball down the line for Abraham to chase. He catches up to it and puts in a decent cross, which Pulisic nods back to Mount at the top of the box. He takes a touch and shoots, but it’s charged down.

KICK-OFF: Brighton in blue and white stripes, Chelsea in the all black with orange socks, and after some technical difficulties with the referee’s communication devices, Chelsea get us underway.

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Decade!

Happy whatever!

Let’s celebrate this arbitrary division of the universe revolving around us with a victory against Brighton, shall we? That would actually make us all happy.

Here we go.

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Brighton & Hove Albion starting lineup (4<4>2):
Ryan | Burn, Dunk, Webster, Montoya | Bissouma, Propper, Mooy, Alzate | Maupay, Trossard

Substitutes from: Button, Duffy, Bernardo, Stephens, Groß, Jahanbakhsh, Connolly

Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
Arrizabalaga | Azpilicueta (c), Zouma, Rüdiger, James | Kanté, Jorginho | Pulisic, Mount, Willian | Abraham

Substitutes from: Caballero, Christensen, Emerson, Lamptey, Kovačić, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi

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Date / Time: Wednesday, January 1, 2020, 12.30 GMT; 7:30am EST; 6pm IST
Venue: Falmer Stadium, Brighton. England
Referee: Stuart Attwell

On TV: BT Sport 1 (UK); NBCSN (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); Canal+ Sport 2, SuperSport3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: BT Sport Live (UK); NBC Sports Live (USA); HotStar (India); DStv Now (NGA)

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Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!