Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter was delighted after the Seagulls' 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the AMEX Stadium on New Year's Day.

The Blues struck first through Cesar Azpilicueta only for Brighton to equalise from a stunning overhead kick by Alireza Jahanbakhsh seven minutes from time.

Manager hails "courage" shown in draw

"I thought the players were amazing. It was an incredible performance", Potter said following the match. "We went toe-to-toe with a top four side and matched them. They have players who can hurt you if you make a mistake.

"The level of courage to keep playing in our way was amazing. I'm incredibly proud. The crowd can frustrated if we make a mistake, so the players have my utmost respect for the personality they showed today."

Potter "changed the structure" of team

While Potter admitted "we wanted to play our way and I am so pleased they got a reward for their efforts", he conceded "we had to change the structure of our team but we got better in the second half.

"We had to defend our box which you'd expect, but, in the end, I thought their keeper was busier than ours. We even had a couple of chances to win it."

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Jahanbakhsh finds back of the net again, Burn lost for extended amount of time

Jahanbakhsh scored for the second successive game after netting against AFC Bournemouth last week.

"He's had a good week that's for sure", Potter said. "It was a wonderful execution and it shows how quickly things can change in football. 

"I spoke to him about why he didn't start today. It was a bit tactical and having played on Saturday I didn't think it was the right way to use him so quickly after he put so much in the Bournemouth game.

"He hasn't had the game time he would like. He's been frustrated, which is normal, but he's been really professional - and just wants his chance. I like him a lot. His decision making is better and he's got a knack for scoring goals."

The only disappointment for the Brighton boss was losing defender Dan Burn for six to eight weeks after fracturing his collarbone on a collision with Chelsea's Reece James.

"These things happen in football", Potter admitted. "I thought Bernardo came on and did really well. It's about the squad adjusting and he is an obvious replacement. Dan's been fantastic, but that's football."

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