Chelsea have suffered another disappointing result in the Premier League after losing 3-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Blues initially took the lead through Enzo Fernandez, but they completely collapsed in the second half after Trevoh Chalobah was sent off.
New signing Jorrel Hato also had to come off because of cramp, so it was not a great day for Chelsea.
Hato, however, can still be pleased with his individual performance against Fabian Hurzeler’s side.
Jorrel Hato only positive from Brighton defeat
Hato has got off to a pretty disappointing start at Chelsea following his arrival from Ajax over the summer.
Hato was very poor against Brentford earlier this month and has been unable to break into the first team. Heading into the Brighton game, it had even been claimed that Hato could return to the Eredivisie on a loan deal to gain more minutes ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
He managed to get some minutes in Chelsea’s latest outing, though, and did not underwhelm — in contrast to most of his teammates.
Amid Chelsea’s injury crisis in central defence, Enzo Maresca started Hato as a centre-back, and the 19-year-old had a pretty solid game.
For example, Hato was only dribbled past once and managed to win the one aerial duel he competed in.
| Jorrel Hato vs Brighton | Total |
| Minutes | 79 |
| Blocked shots | 1 |
| Tackles | 1 |
| Dribbled past | 1 |
| Ground duels (won) | 3 (2) |
| Aerial duels (won) | 1 (1) |
Last month, Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink described Hato as a “top signing”, and he showed signs of that on Saturday.
Some of Chelsea’s top boardroom members visited the dressing room at full-time, and they have their opinion of Hato.
Chelsea board think Jorrel Hato can fill in for Levi Colwill
Levi Colwill got injured while the transfer market was open, but Behdad Eghbali and the rest of the Chelsea board were not interested in signing someone to replace him.
One reason was because of one signing that the club had already made, Hato. It has been claimed that the Chelsea board believe Hato can cover for Colwill.
While the Dutchman spent last season playing as a left-back, he can also play in central defence and did not do a bad job there on Saturday.
In fact, centre-back is Hato’s best position, according to Winston Bogarde, who has worked with the Netherlands international.
Against Brighton, Hato proved that he does have something to offer there, which is perhaps the only positive Maresca can take from the defeat.
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