Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma dubbed ‘Messi-like’ after gorgeous opening towards Chelsea

Brighton’s opening goal was dubbed “Lionel Messi-like” by Jamie Carragher, who was on comms for Sky Sports, thanks to his outrageous touch

Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma was dubbed as “Lionel Messi-like” by Jamie Carragher.

Mitoma, 27, was named in the Seagulls starting side for their clash with Chelsea on Friday evening (February 14).

And it was the Japanese star who opened the scoring with a delightful touch to take the ball away from Trevoh Chalobah.

And with Chalobah left in the dust, Mitoma picked up his head and bent the ball into the far corner of the goal. “What have we just seen? That was outrageous from Mitoma,” Carragher, who was on comms for Sky Sports, said.

“Chelsea are trying to play through the opposition and the touch is as good as anything you will see in the Premier League this season. And the finish isn’t bad either!

“Look at that. That is Messi-like, and I don’t say that lightly. That was pure genius.”

“Mitoma that is beautiful, that TOUCH, that FINISH! The Japanese Messi,” one fan said agreeing with Carragher, While a second shared: “Some boy, that Mitoma. This is genuinely Messi-like!”

“Mitoma just turns into Messi against us I guess,” a Chelsea fan sighed. And another added: “If Messi scores that goal we would talk about it for years..”

Mitoma was also on the scoresheet for Brighton over the weekend as they dumped Chelsea out of the FA Cup.

His strike comes weeks after Brighton rejected a reported £75million bid from the Saudi Pro League for Mitoma. talkSPORT claimed the Seagulls rejected two offers from Al Nassr to sign the 27-year-old.

The report added that Brighton had no intention to sell the winger, who is under contract until the summer of 2027.