Ben Chilwell screams at Nicolas Jackson as Marc Cucurella makes key Chelsea point to Pochettino

Chelsea earned their third win of the season as they reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening. It was not their most proficient performance as Brighton posed a tough test at Stamford Bridge, but it was one in which they found a way, and Nicolas Jackson's goal ensured the Blues came away as victors.

The Seagulls' pressing posed the west London side plenty of problems but Mauricio Pochettino's men showed enough resilience to keep a clean sheet, and a win they will hope can truly kickstart their season. It was Chelsea's first competitive win against Brighton since September 2020, and sets up the Blues to face Fulham on Monday.

football.london takes a look at five things learned from the clash.

When Chelsea's starting lineup dropped at 6.45pm, it was far from easy to guess who would featured where, with three left-backs in the XI, and no true right-back, as Pochettino made five changes to his team. Even with that information will have seen Cucurella slotting in on the right side of defence.

The Spaniard was left with no easy task having to face off against Kaoru Mitoma and hostile reception from his former team, but he put in a determined display that could see him as an option for the role until Malo Gusto and Reece James return. He was not perfect, with a few erratic kicks through the air but he put in some solid tackles, and combined defensively well with Ian Maatsen to keep his opponent pretty quiet.

Cucurella only further improved when up against Joao Pedro and put in some well-timed tackles, in addition to a thunderous one high up the pitch that crowd appreciated. The 25-year-old produced nine tackles on the night, in addition to two interceptions and won over plenty of supporters who were uneasy