Chelsea vs Brighton / Graham Potter backs his defender after costly penalty on Mason Mount

Brighton somehow survived the first half as Frank Lampard’s men missed a host of chances but five minutes into the second, Adam Webster hit the self-destruct button.

The defender’s poor touch in the area allowed Mason Mount to poke the ball away from him and as Webster tried to win it back he tripped the youngster.

Jorginho assumed penalty-taking duties despite Pedro notching one against Grimsby in midweek and the Italian coolly rolled it home.

Brighton briefly threatened an equaliser, Steven Alzate, who impressed in the second half, seeing a shot deflected wide before Dan Burn headed the resulting corner into the ground and up off the crossbar.

But their rally was short lived, Callum Hudson-Odoi teed-up Willian who charged into the box and finished at the near post.

Potter’s men have not won since the opening weekend of the season.

“We were stubborn and put up a fight but we were lucky to go in at 0-0 to be honest,” said Potter.

“There was nothing wrong with the effort, the boys gave everything and you have to give credit to the opposition. Chelsea were good.

“Adam’s got tremendous quality with the ball at his feet but mistakes happen.

“We grew into the game a bit, hit the bar and had a chance to get a foothold but then the second goal killed us off a bit.

“Overall Chelsea deserved to win. We have to improve. That’s our challenge.”

Frank Lampard was relieved to get a first Premier League home win as Chelsea boss and despite Burn’s header that hit the bar, Brighton rarely threatened to deny the hosts a first clean sheet of the season.

“We’ve been waiting for that,” said Lampard. “The home games have been frustrating. You could almost feel the frustration at half-time because we hadn’t scored.

“What pleased me was the performance. The message at half-time was to not get despondent and keep playing at pace.

“When you’re not winning at home you fear the worst, but it felt different today. I felt it was coming and it was important to say that to the players. They deserved something to drop and it came with the penalty.”