A moment of supreme quality from Sandy Baltimore put us ahead just before half-time at Broadfield Stadium, and the second was scored soon after the break when an Erin Cuthbert cross was turned home by Brighton's Caitlin Hayes.

Our third came midway through the second half when substitute Sam Kerr played in a wonderful ball across the six-yard box for Alyssa Thompson to finish from close range.

The scoreline alone might've made this win look straightforward, but Brighton made things tough in the first half in particular, and Chelsea needed to work hard for this victory.

This was a winning result that came down to our moments of quality, which shone through to allow us to finish our 2025 league campaign with an important win.

Changes made

Sonia Bompastor took the opportunity to rotate her side heavily during this busy run of fixtures, making six changes from the side which faced Roma at Stamford Bridge in midweek.

That meant Aggie Beever-Jones, Ellie Carpenter, Cuthbert, Naomi Girma, Lauren James and Thompson came into the side in place of Veerle Buurman, Niamh Charles, Wieke Kaptein, Kerr, Catarina Macario and Johanna Rytting Kanerd as we went in search of three points in the Women's Super League for the final time in 2025.

The Blues began with the majority of the possession in the early stages as we sought out opportunities inside the box, but came up against a resolute Brighton backline and struggled to threaten the goal.

Brighton hold firm

The first real chance came after the 15-minute mark, when a burst of pace from James opened up the space for her to take a shot, which rolled just wide of the far post.

Then, following on from a corner whipped in by James, Keira Walsh clipped the post with a powerful drive from the corner of the penalty area. The Seagulls 'keeper had to be on her toes once more to tip over a Baltimore shot powered towards her from the edge of the area with 23 minutes gone.

Chelsea continued to push forward without finding much cutting edge until Thompson forced a point-blank save from Baggaley with a diving header inside the six-yard box.

The breakthrough

Just when it seemed like the Blues would be heading in at half-time with the scores locked at 0-0, Baltimore fashioned a moment of individual brilliance that would see us lead at the break.

The France international danced her way past the full-back down the left wing before curling an unstoppable effort into the top corner with perfect power and placement.

Advantage doubled

Chelsea began the second half as they had ended the first - with a goal. This time, Cuthbert got down the right wing and swung a cross into the box, and as Hayes attempted to head the ball clear, she steered the ball into her own net.

After an hour, the home side's resolve looked to have been shattered, as substitutes Kaptein and Kerr both went close with shots on goal.

Thompson chips in

As the Blues continued to dominate, substitute Kerr delivered an exquisite turn on the left-hand side, creating enough space to play a low and hard cross across the box. Thompson was on hand to bundle the ball in from close range as the victory looked beyond doubt with just over 15 minutes to play.

Brighton rallied in the final minutes as Livia Peng was forced to make a couple of saves, including one from former Blues star Fran Kirby.

Yet this was a controlled performance from Chelsea, and some determined performances on the day ensured we came out with a comprehensive victory in addition to keeping the clean sheet.

What it means...

We take three points in the final league match of the year and sit six points behind Manchester City ahead of our next league fixture at home to West Ham on 11 January.

What comes next...

We travel to Wolfsburg for our final Women's Champions League match of the year, as we bid to qualify automatically for the knockout stages in the final match of the league phase of the competition.

We will then head to Liverpool a week today to round off the calendar year with Women's League Cup quarter-final clash.

The teams

Chelsea: Peng, Carpenter, Bright (c), Girma, Bronze (Charles 80), Baltimore (Rytting Kaneryd 82), Cuthbert, Walsh, Thompson (Reiten 83), James (Kaptein h/t), Beever-Jones (Kerr h/t)
Unused subs: Spencer, Nusken, Macario, Jean-Francois
Scorers: Baltimore 42 Hayes 51 (OG) Thompson 73
Booked: Walsh 90+2

Brighton: Baggaley, Vanegas, Minami, Kafaji (Kirby 59), Symonds (c) (Camacho 81), Seike, Noordam, Hayes, Olislagers, Haley (Tsunoda 81), McLauchlan (Rule 66)
Unused subs: Poulter, Carabali, Martin, Balmer, Gay
Booked: Haley 65

Referee: Sophie Dennington