Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler says the tension with Chelsea can benefit his side — as long as his players use it in the right way.
Former Brighton trio Robert Sanchez, Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo were all booed by home fans during Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat in the fourth round of the FA Cup at the Amex Stadium last Saturday.
They are among 11 players, coaching staff and recruitment staff that have departed Brighton for Chelsea over the last three-and-a-half-years in moves that have earned the club more than £225million in transfer fees and compensation payments.
Hurzeler will experience the antipathy at the Amex for the second time tonight, as Chelsea make a quick return visit in the Premier League.
“I think the tension is there,” Hurzeler said. “You can feel it in the stadium, because a lot who played for Brighton in the past play now for Chelsea, so you can feel that the crowd is not happy about that.
“I like that we have this tension, because it shows that we are ready to fight against them, you are ready to fight against a big opponent.
“You need to have the right attitude towards games like this, you need to have the right mindset. I love it when it’s a little bit emotional. It’s very important to stay calm in the right moments, to make the right decisions to not get too emotional.
“Because then you lose the cool head, you lose the faze of making the right decisions, so therefore I think it’s very important to have the mix. But if we can get the energy out of this rivalry, out of these tensions, then we can use it as an advantage.”
Brighton have won two of the three home clashes with Chelsea since former head coach Graham Potter (now in charge of West Ham United) and several members of his backroom team switched to Stamford Bridge in September 2022, a year after Cucurella launched the exodus.
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