Chelsea 4 Brighton & Hove Albion 2
Four first half goals from Cole Palmer including a penalty saw Albion lose their unbeaten record and suffer the first loss under new boss Fabian Hurzeler.
Palmer scored his first after 21 minutes and completed the scoring 21 minutes later on 41 minutes.
Albion had gone in front through Georgonio Rutter and pulled it back to 3-2 with a second goal of the season from Carlos Baleba.
Albion’s bad day was compounded by the news of the death of former manager Barry Lloyd.