A banner unfurled before kick-off to mark Frank Lampard’s Stamford Bridge return read ‘Welcome home Super Frank’.
What followed on another chastening occasion for Chelsea was yet more evidence of how different the club he once knew now is.
- Co-owner Todd Boehly, in his executive box, locked in animated and heated conversation with angry fans who wanted answers.
- Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta reflecting the sense of agitation, leaping from the bench to join Lampard in his technical area and appeal desperately for an early Brighton booking.
- Cheers ringing out when Raheem Sterling’s number went up as part of a second-half quadruple substitution, some fans rising from their seats to vent their fury as Chelsea’s marquee summer signing reached the dugout.