Enzo Fernandez scored his first two Premier League goals for the 10-man Chelsea in a contentious match at Stamford Bridge, sending the team back to winning ways.

Benoit Badiashile flicked Conor Gallagher’s corner back across the six-yard box, allowing Fernandez to escape his marker and nod past Jason Steele to open his account early in the first half.

Midway through the first half, the Blues increased their lead once again when Levi Colwill, who scored his first goal for the team last season while on loan at Brighton, rose to meet another corner kick from Gallagher.

However, two minutes before halftime, Facundo Buonanotte’s curling attempt pulled Brighton back into the match.

Conor Gallagher received a second booking for a lunging challenge on former Blues midfielder Billy Gilmour, which reduced Chelsea to 10 men.

Brighton dominated the first few minutes of the second half, helped by the additional man, but James Milner’s contentious tackle of Mykhailo Mudryk, who had been pushed clear by Raheem Sterling, gave Chelsea a bigger lead.

Referee Craig Pawson dismissed the home team’s pleas but instructed them to see the pitch-side VAR monitor. After that, he awarded a penalty, which Fernandez took calmly.

Joao Pedro stepped in front of Colwill to flick in Kaoru Mitoma’s corner in the first of ten more minutes, although Brighton had the better of possession but never really seemed like they were going to score.

When Pawson determined that Colwill had used his arm to block Mitoma’s ball into the box, the Seagulls appeared to have been granted a penalty kick and lay siege to the Chelsea goal in stoppage time.

Jarred Gillett, a VAR official, urged him to refer his decision to the pitchside monitor once more. After a thorough review, he appropriately revised his mind, with the ball striking Colwill in the face rather than the arm.