Fabian Hurzeler reacts after high line tactic at Chelsea – Alan Shearer and Cole Palmer respond

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler admits he will analyse his high line defensive tactic with his players after their 4-2 defeat at Chelsea last Saturday.

Albion’s defensive frailties were ruthlessly exposed at Stamford Bridge as Cole Palmer’s four goals cancelled out strikes from Brighton’s Georginio Rutter and Carlos Baleba.

It was Brighton’s first loss of the season under their new head coach Hurzeler and leaves them ninth in the Premier League table on nine points after six matches.

“Some things are negotiable and somethings are not,” said Hurzeler when asked if he will be sticking with the high line strategy. “I should discuss it before I go out in the public and say something about our style of play.

“It is something I will have to discuss with the players and whether they are confident, or not. But again we try to improve the players and we try to help the players, we try to talk to the players, we need to give them advice and again if you want to play with this high line you need a connection and this connection was missing.”

Palmer became the first player in the competition’s history to score four goals in a first half during Chelsea’s win. Palmer’s record-breaking performance saw him net four times in 20 minutes at Stamford Bridge, including a whipped free-kick into the top corner.

Chelsea’s leveller came after a misplaced pass from Adam Webster to goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen which Nicolas Jackson punished with a simple pass to set Palmer up for a tap-in.

Brighton boss Hurzeler said that Palmer simply punished their individual errors in west London.

“After the game it is easy to say why don’t you defend in a low block. But also, with the low block we could lose this game. It is always a balance and of the four goals we conceded not one was of the high line. It was because of individual mistakes.

“[With the high line, you can] win a lot of ball high up the pitch. Of course if that does not work it looks a little like it does today. We will analyse it. I have not seen all the actions but we will sit down and talk and if necessary we will adapt.”

Former England striker Alan Shearer, speaking about Hurzeler’s high line after the 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest last week, said: “They play a very high-risk high line which they have been punished for already this season.

“They have conceded four goals this season, two of them were today, because of the high line they play. It is risky. If you are prepared to move the ball quickly, you will get in because it’s a high risk.

“We have seen no pressure on the ball and, when you have no pressure on, you have to drop back. They don’t. They keep that high line and they have been done for it.”

Palmer, speaking to Match of the Day 2, admitted their game plan was to exploit Brighton’s high line tactic. “I should have had five or six! When I missed the first chance I was upset but with the way they played and their high line I felt we’d get more chances.

“The manager set up a good game plan, we knew how to attack them with first-time passes in behind. Brighton are a good team, pass the ball well. They play similar to us. Three points is what we needed and that is what we got.”