Chelsea made the most expensive substitution in football history in Brighton loss

Chelsea made the most expensive substitution in football history in the 2-1 defeat to Brighton on Saturday.

Interim boss Frank Lampard suffered a third consecutive defeat since returning to Stamford Bridge, with Brighton responding to Conor Gallagher's opener with strikes from Danny Welbeck and Julio Enciso.

The visitors had 69% possession and also had 26 shots on target in an utterly dominant performance. The result means the Blues are in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

But they did make history in the loss as according to finance expert Kieran Maguire, Lampard made the most costly change in the second half.

With the scores level, Lampard made a quadruple substitution in the first half just before the hour mark in a bid to get a second goal.

Mateo Kovacic, Hakim Ziyech, Joao Felix and Reece James were all introduced for Enzo Fernandez, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling and Wesley Fofana.

The quarter who departed the pitch cost a total of £281.5 million - with Fernandez their record signing at a whopping £107 million.

The West London side splashed out £70 million on Fofana, while Pulisic came in for £57 million from Borussia Dortmund and Raheem Sterling was a £47.5 million purchase from Manchester City.

There was around £75 million pound's worth of talent entering the fray, though James came through the club's academy and Felix is on loan from Atletico Madrid.

The subs were unable to affect the game and it was Enciso who popped up with a stunning long-range strike for the winner for Brighton, who are just two points off fifth-placed Spurs with two games in hand.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are now 11th in the league and only ahead of a revitalised Crystal Palace by three points.

Fans fear that they could end up becoming London's worst-ranked side if this wretched run of form continues. Arsenal, Tottenham, Brentford and Fulham are all above Chelsea, with Palace and West Ham below them.

Supporters confronted owner Todd Boehly in the stands as frustrations set in over the underperforming side.

Next up for Chelsea is the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid, with the two-time winners trailing 2-0 from the first leg.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Chelsea, Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Premier League, Frank Lampard, Wesley Fofana, Brighton And Hove Albion

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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