Joao Pedro scores against former club as Chelsea cruise past Brighton 3-1

There’s something almost poetic about a player haunting his former club. Joao Pedro did exactly that on August 30, putting the ball in the back of the net against Brighton at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea raced to a 3-1 halftime lead in their Premier League clash.

Pedro’s goal, Chelsea’s third of the afternoon, came on a counter-attack in the 32nd minute. It capped a dominant first-half performance from Xabi Alonso’s side.

Pedro makes his point against Brighton

This was his first competitive fixture against the club he left to join Chelsea, and the visiting fans at Stamford Bridge made sure he knew how they felt about the move.

Pedro responded in the most effective way possible: by scoring. Sporting News awarded him an 8/10 in their player ratings, noting that he appeared to genuinely enjoy the occasion and maintained his composure despite the hostility from his former supporters.

It wasn’t a flawless performance. Pedro missed an earlier chance that could have made the scoreline even more lopsided.

Romeo Lavia opened the scoring for Chelsea, with Pedro Neto adding the second before Joao Pedro completed the first-half blitz. Brighton pulled one back to make it 3-1 at the break.

A transfer that’s paying dividends fast

Pedro had already tallied 15 Premier League goals for Chelsea during the 2025/26 season before this match, a figure that underscores just how central he has become to the club’s attacking plans.

On August 24, Pedro scored the fastest opening-weekend goal in Premier League history, finding the net just 31 seconds into Chelsea’s match against Fulham.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.