Chelsea lose at Southampton, Fulham beat Brighton

LONDON, Aug 31: Chelsea's stuttering start to the season continued as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Southampton on Tuesday despite Raheem Sterling giving them an early lead.

Sterling struck in the 23rd minute with his third goal in two games but Chelsea's lead was short-lived.

Romeo Lavia levelled five minutes later with a thumping finish from outside the area.

Adam Armstrong then turned the match on its head in first-half stoppage time -- finishing superbly to round off a slick passing move by the hosts.

Chelsea, beaten at Leeds United in their previous away game, were unable to make much impression on a tireless Saints side in the second half despite plenty of possession.

Southampton's win moved them to seven points from five games, the same total as Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea.

"We knew it would be a tough night tonight. Chelsea are a tough opposition but the lads dug deep," Armstrong said.

"Nights like this we won't forget. It was frustrating on Saturday (against Manchester United), we had a few chances. That is football. We dug deep tonight."

Aleksandar Mitrovic bagged his 100th goal for Fulham on the way to a 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Craven Cottage, bringing an end to the visitors' longest unbeaten run in the top flight.

"A great win, a great three points," Fulham manager Marco Silva told reporters. "We controlled the game really well. They (the players) deserved the win."

For long stretches of the first half Fulham sat deep and sought to catch the visitors out on the break. While they did manage to break forward a number of times, with Mitrovic making some mazy runs goalwards, they were let down by their wayward final touches.

At the other end Solly March had the best chance of the half for Brighton, but sent his header wide of Bernd Leno's goal.

Mitrovic finally broke the deadlock in the 48th minute when Neeskens Kebano swept the ball across the goalmouth for the powerful Serb to fire in at the far post. It was the striker's 100th goal for the Cottagers in all competitions.

Fulham had the Seagulls reeling seven minutes later when Andreas Pereira crossed the ball in only for Lewis Dunk to deflect it heavily into his own net, piling the misery on Graham Potter's men.

Brighton were thrown a lifeline moments later, however, when Bobby De Cordova-Reid brought down Pervis Estupinan in the area, and Alexis Mac Allister smashed his penalty in high past the lunging Bernd Leno.

De Cordova-Reid spurned a golden opportunity to restore Fulham's two-goal advantage in the 70th minute when Mitrovic laid the ball off for him on the right side of the area, only for the Jamaican forward to blaze his shot high and wide.

But Fulham held on for the win in front of the crowd of 22,224, with the home fans cheering ecstatically when referee Thomas Bramall, officiating his first top division match, blew the whistle after six minutes of extra time.

The win lifts Fulham to sixth in the table on eight points from five games, while Brighton remain in fourth place on 10 points ahead of a full slate of midweek fixtures.

It also brings to an end Brighton's nine-match unbeaten run, their longest in the Premier League.

Leeds United's Luis Sinisterra cancelled out Anthony Gordon's first-half opener for Everton as the two sides drew 1-1 in a pulsating Premier League clash at Elland Road.

Yoane Wissa headed a late equaliser after coming on a substitute to earn Brentford a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.

Palace looked to be easing towards three points after in-form Wilfried Zaha's stunning opener in the 59th minute. Agencies

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