Japan winger Kaoru Mitoma scored a wonder goal as Brighton cruised to a 3-0 home win over Chelsea in the English Premier League on Friday.

Having also netted the winner against Chelsea on Feb. 8 in the FA Cup, Mitoma remained a thorn in their side with his 27th-minute opener at American Express Stadium that took his season’s league tally to six goals.

The 27-year-old produced an outrageous touch to bring down a long ball over his shoulder from goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and veered inside Trevoh Chalobah before finding the right bottom corner from the edge of the box.

“In terms of quality, that was my best goal of the season,” Mitoma said. “I was just focusing on the first touch. It was perfect.”

“I was surprised myself. It’s not something that I can pull off easily, but I’m glad we’ve been practicing that move.”

Manager Fabian Hurzler said, “Sometimes, I think you can’t explain things from special players.”

“I don’t think I have seen control like that in my coaching career like Kaoru did.”

Yankuba Minteh drove in low from close range to double Brighton’s lead in the 38th minute before the Gambian squeezed in his second to complete the scoring in the 63rd minute, both assisted by Danny Welbeck.

“Attacking players need goals and assists. If we can do that, our team’s place in the table will also go up,” said Mitoma, who has four goals across all competitions since the turn of the year.

Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma (R) celebrates with his teammates after scoring during the first half of an English Premier League match against Chelsea at Amex Stadium in Brighton, England, on Feb. 14, 2025. (Kyodo)

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