Fabian Hurzeler looked ahead to the challenge of competing against Chelsea.
Against another London outfit in Tottenham Hotspur, the Seagulls bounced back from going behind twice to draw 2-2 on Saturday evening. Pedro Porro put away a header to take the lead for the hosts, then Kaoru Mitoma, substituted on for the injured Diego Gomez, grabbed the leveller. In the second half, Georginio Rutter repeated that feat off the bench to cancel out a superb Xavi Simons strike.
‘We have to play intense’
Next on the schedule is a showdown with the Blues, who have conceded eight without reply and scored none against Newcastle United, Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United. They now sit seven points behind fifth placed Liverpool, and qualification for the Champions League is becoming a slimmer possibility under Liam Rosenior, a head coach under increasing scrutiny.
On top of this, Chelsea have struggled against the Seagulls in recent years; they were beaten 2-1 and 3-0 at the Amex Stadium in a matter of weeks before the beginning of 2025 and a 3-1 defeat would follow in September when they went down to nine men at Stamford Bridge. Hurzeler has respect for the qualities that the guests bring to the table, but it is all about focusing on confidence in his camp.
“It’s not a big injury [for Diego Gomez] and it’s not an injury that takes him out for months, but we have to be patient to see how it develops.
“[Georginio Rutter] went through a very tough period where he suffered. He kept believing and fighting and now he’s showed a great impact when he got on the pitch and got his reward with a goal.
“It’s a position we should really embrace, and we need to enjoy these moments and games because it’s a great opportunity for us to grow.
“[Chelsea] have enough individual quality to beat every team in the league. They are not on the best run, but they play good football. We have to play intense again if you want to compete with them.”