Chelsea beat Brighton & Hove Albion 4-3 on Sunday — with three goals before half-time — to give new manager Xabi Alonso a victory in his first official match at Stamford Bridge.A mix-up between goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and defender Mats Wieffer from a corner in the fourth minute allowed Romeo Lavia to poke the ball home for 1-0, and that set the tone for the early stages.Summer signing Morgan Rogers continued his fine start to life at Chelsea by setting up Pedro Neto to double the lead 10 minutes later, and a deadly counter-attack from the edge of their own penalty area added a third when it was finished by Joao Pedro just past the half-hour.Brighton hit back quickly with a goal from Malick Yalcouye, then got a second when Joao Pedro scored a 63rd-minute own goal, but Cole Palmer sealed the win with a smartly-placed finish with 16 minutes left in the 90, with Pascal Gross heading a final Brighton goal in added time.It gives Alonso two wins from two league games at the start of his reign, after last Monday’s opening 3-2 defeat of Fulham.Our writers Simon Johnson and Tim Spiers break down the key talking points of the game.Lavia: Key for Alonso already?Perhaps one of the early winners in the Alonso era is going to be Lavia.To say his Chelsea career has struggled to get going is a bit of an understatement. Bought from Southampton for an initial £53million in August 2023, the Belgium international midfielder has not even made 20 Premier League starts for the club yet, nor once completed 90 minutes.But with Moises Caicedo beginning the campaign nursing a minor injury and Enzo Fernandez subject of a potential transfer, Lavia has taken full advantage of his opportunity.The 22-year-old has been named in the starting XI for Chelsea’s first two league games under Alonso and even got a run-out against third-tier visitors Luton Town as a late substitute in the midweek Carabao Cup win.It is a sign that Alonso already trusts Lavia and wants to make him a key part of his plans. No mean feat.There was a lot of responsibility on his shoulders against Brighton today, with Malo Gusto, usually a full-back, picked to be his midfield partner. And it was Lavia who got Chelsea off to the perfect start, prodding the ball home following a mix-up between Verbruggen and Wieffer.The nature of Lavia’s joyous celebration (see main photo), and the fact it was the first time he has found the net for Chelsea in his 46th appearance, spoke volumes.