At his former club, where he also began his coaching career, Liam Rosenior was met with chants from his own supporters calling for him to leave for the first time
It marked radical new low point in a bleak run of five consecutive league defeats without a goal for Chelsea - their worst such sequence in more than a century and one that few supporters have witnessed in their lifetime.
Given the club's success over the past 25 years, it is perhaps understandable that patience is thin for a head coach appointed just three months ago from Chelsea's partner club, Strasbourg.
There were early signs that the night might not unfold as Rosenior had hoped. Marc Cucurella's barber leaked news that Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro were unavailable through injury - information the head coach had intended to keep under wraps -before it quickly circulated on social media platform X in the mid-morning.
It was the third team-news leak Rosenior has faced this season and the latest in a series of issues that unfolded throughout the match.
Tactically, his decision to switch to a back five - only the second time Chelsea have done so this season - quickly proved ineffective, forcing a change back to his usual system at half-time.
Such was Chelsea's disarray that they conceded after three minutes following a poor clearance from Jorrel Hato. They then went on to concede the second-highest expected goals (xG) total after 20 minutes of any Premier League game this season, while failing to register a shot until the 40th minute.
The introduction of Alejandro Garnacho at the interval brought only marginal improvement before Chelsea were deservedly 2-0 down.
Rosenior cut a lonely figure as Chelsea supporters turned their chants against him, while Brighton fans ironically voiced support for his continued leadership. Matters worsened when Chelsea conceded a late third goal.
They failed to register a shot on target for the first time since February 2025, are enduring their longest run without a clean sheet since the 1996–97 season and, with Ferdi Kadioglu's volley, have now conceded their joint‑highest number of goals from corners - matching the total from the 1995–96 campaign.
This awful form that began in March has carried into April, leaving Chelsea's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League increasingly remote and even European qualification now in serious doubt.