Adam Lallana expressed displeasure at Chelsea players celebrating in front of him at full time, following Chelsea’s hard-fought 3-2 victory against Brighton on Sunday.
Despite playing with 10 men at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea secured their fifth league win of the season, courtesy of Enzo Fernandez’s first Premier League goals since joining the club in January.
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The match was intense, with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher receiving a red card just before halftime for a second bookable offense.
Tensions escalated at full time when Chelsea players enthusiastically celebrated their crucial win, lifting them to 10th in the league but still 10 points away from the top four.
Lallana attempted to interrupt the celebrations as Chelsea’s injured center-back, Wesley Fofana, joyfully jumped onto the back of teammate Benoit Badiashile.
Lallana, disapproving of Chelsea’s revelry, tried to pull Fofana away from Badiashile, with a bloodied Armando Broja nearby.
???? BEEF at full time. Fofana jumps on Badiashile in front of the Brighton player before Badiashile shoved him away. Broja has blood on his nose from earlier. pic.twitter.com/klZLC9xpUs
— LONDONSFIRST™ (@LondonsFirst_) December 3, 2023
Despite Badiashile’s smile, Lallana persisted in separating the players until Levi Colwill intervened to defuse the situation.
Mauricio Pochettino, relieved, asserted that his team deserved the three points in front of their home supporters and praised Brighton for contributing to a competitive match.
‘We deserved the victory. When you analyse the game we were very competitive. It was an important victory for us because after [the Newcastle defeat] we needed to show a different face, and the team’s response was really good,’ he said.
‘I told the players at half-time that we had a massive opportunity to show that we are a team. That was how we took the second half.
‘Yes, we talked about the way we needed to play, but the most important thing with one man less was to challenge Brighton,’ he added.
