Chelsea 3-0 Brighton: Blues hammer Seagulls at Stamford Bridge to keep top four hopes in tact

Chelsea 3-0 Brighton: Blues hammer Seagulls at Stamford Bridge to keep top four hopes in tact
Chelsea put in a five star performance to dispatch Brighton 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and keep their top four hopes alive.Callum Hudson-Odoi, who was making his first Premier League start, neatly crossed in for Olivier Giroud to finish shortly before the break, before Eden Hazard and Ruben Loftus-Cheek dispatched eye-catching second-half strikes.3

Hazard scored and assisted in the match

Hazard’s 14th league goal of the campaign and Loftus-Cheek’s eighth in all competitions pushed Chelsea above Manchester United into fifth place, but one point off Tottenham in third.Chelsea’s hefty win might now convince boss Maurizio Sarri to let homegrown talents Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek loose in the bid for both a top-four league finish and Europa League glory.Sarri has defended Hudson-Odoi making his full England debut before his first Premier League start, with the forward impressing on international duty last month.But even the Italian knew that elusive league start had to come soon for a talent so highly-rated that the Chelsea hierarchy are itching to build their future around.

LIVE ON talkSPORT

talkSPORT is your home of live football! Here's what's coming up on talkSPORT and talkSPORT 2...

• Southampton vs Liverpool (Friday, 8pm)  talkSPORT
• Norwich vs QPR (Saturday, 12:30pm)  talkSPORT 2
• Huddersfield vs Leicester (Saturday, 3pm)  talkSPORT 2
• Manchester City vs Brighton (Saturday, 5:30pm)  talkSPORT
• Coventry vs Bristol Rovers (Sunday, 3pm)  talkSPORT 2
• Watford vs Wolves (Sunday, 4pm)  talkSPORT

Hudson-Odoi wasted precious little time proving his class on the night in an industrious showing that yielded an assist and plenty of glimpses of his huge potential.While Chelsea were lucky to snatch that 2-1 win at Cardiff at the weekend, there was simply no fortune in this clinical victory.Chelsea needed time to break down Brighton’s double-banked defensive set-up and, while at times flailing at fluency, the Blues still bossed the first-half.Hudson-Odoi quickly set about justifying his start, not that he needed to.3

Hudson-Odoi enjoyed a solid first Premier League start

The teenager’s early strike would have definitely troubled Seagulls keeper Mat Ryan but for a deflection over the bar about which Shane Duffy knew precious little.N’Golo Kante saw a penalty shout rightly rejected after going to ground under little pressure from Gaetan Bong, but then Hudson-Odoi grabbed the game by the throat.Hazard’s cute backheel carved the space, and the England starlet whipped an inviting low cross, only for Giroud to see his effort rebuffed.Then the 18-year-old stood up another right-wing ball, this time with captain Cesar Azpilicueta unable to hit the target.Florin Andone fluffed Brighton’s sole chance of the half in a stark reminder to the hosts not to switch off, the Romania forward scuffing wide after Yves Bissouma had skinned Azpilicueta all ends up.3

Loftus-Cheek scored an absolute beauty in the second-half

Hazard blasted over after Giroud forced Duffy into a poor clearing header, in another big chance wasted.But then Hudson-Odoi surfaced again on the right, turning Anthony Knockaert inside out before drilling a low near-post cross that begged to be converted.Giroud duly bundled in, cementing the home side’s dominance.Hudson-Odoi might even have bagged a goal before the break too, only for his excitement to get the better of him. Hazard’s lofted ball into the box evaded Kante and dropped teasingly on the inside right, with Hudson-Odoi racing in at pace – only to end up crumpled in a heap after flashing a boot at fresh air.Chelsea only extended their control after the break, Hazard leaving Lewis Dunk sliding into the distance before whipping home from 18 yards.And then Loftus-Cheek chipped in from the same distance, steadying himself before delivering a sumptuous finish.

---

Best of the Rest XI: Premier League's top performers outside of the Big Six May 16, 2019 1 This seasons individual accolades have been awarded and, unsurprisingly, the vast majority went to players at Liverpool and Manchester City, with the leftovers for players at other Big Six clubs.
Ranked! The 15 best Premier League players outside the top six

---

Rafael Benitez orders SIX signings as he closes in on new Newcastle contract CaughtOffside - Published 1 week ago: Benitez set for talks with Newcastle According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is set to hold talks with the club in London as they attempt to come to terms on a new contract for the Spaniard
Anthony Smith Says He Gets Paid More Than He s Worth: I m

---

Gonzalo Higuain's nightmare Premier League debut by the numbers 4 months ago , Georgy Tsepkovskiy The Argentine was handed his first Chelsea's Prem start in the 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Assessing the performances of Chelsea's last 10 strikers amid

---

Virgil van Dijk will present the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with a cheque for €100,000 ahead of Liverpool's Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich this
Virgil van Dijk: Liverpool defender to present €100,000
hollywoodadviser.com/virgil-van-dijk-liverpool-defender-to-present-e100000-cheque-to-international-committee-of-the-red-cross-ahead-of-bayern-munich-clash/
great gesture Van Dijk will present the cheque on behalf of UEFA having been named in the UEFA.com Fans' Team of the Year 2018 Virgil van Dijk will present the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with a cheque for €100,000 ahead of Liverpool's Champions League round of 16 tie against Bayern Munich this evening.
Van Dijk to present UEFA cheque to ICRC cause - Liverpool FC

---

talkSPORT host Adrian Durham labels Tottenham's Harry Kane coming 10th in the Ballon d'Or standings as 'anti-Englishness at its very worst' to only come tenth in the Ballon d'Or list
talkSPORT host Adrian Durham labels Tottenham's Harry Kane

---

Arsenal's Century Club - Robin van Persie Arsenal Arsenal (Weblog) 06:06 8-May-19 Ex-Arsenal ace reveals 'great stories' he's heard about Spurs and Liverpool training talkSPORT 15:17 30-Apr-19 'Bizarre': Van Persie shares what he's heard about Poch's training sessions at Tottenham HITC 12:03 30-Apr-19
Robin Van Persie's wife plans London stay | Daily Mail Online

---

Idrissa Gueye opens up on 'disappointment' over not moving from Everton to Paris Saint-Germain. The Ligue 1 champions made two late bids for the Blues midfielder in the January transfer window

---

Gomez is currently sidelined with a fracture to his lower left leg, but has been rewarded for his impressive performances over the past two seasons.
England defender Gomez signs new Liverpool deal

---

Brendan Rodgers: I have the best job in the world at Celtic. The former Liverpool manager told talkSPORT: "I woke up here on Monday morning as the manager of Celtic, believe it or not the
Brendan Rodgers says Celtic job the best in the world

---

The FA are reviewing allegations following reports of alleged illegal payments to Andreas Christensen's father around the time of his transfer to Chelsea from Brondby. The Blues reportedly employed the young Dane's father - Sten - as a scout on the same day that they signed the player, and was paid over £650,000 across four years.
Breaking News - FA to review allegations Chelsea made payment

---

Jan 30, 2019 · Sol Bamba has said some of his Cardiff City teammates are scared to fly after the disappearance of Emiliano Sala. The defender laid bare the depth of anguish that has gripped the club and
Cardiff afraid to fly after Emiliano Sala disappearance Sol

---

GORDON TAYLOR'S biggest PFA ally has called for him to go. Ex-chairman Clarke Carlisle accused Taylor of a lack of "transparent governance" — despite admitting he would not be alive
Clarke Carlisle calls for Gordon Taylor to quit PFA despite

---

Mar 26, 2019 · Manchester United could confirm Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's permanent appointment as early as this week. Solskjaer was brought in as caretaker manager last December following the sacking of Jose
Man Utd Confirm Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Appointment as

---