Brighton 4 Chelsea 1 - Highlights
Potter had been unbeaten in his first nine games since leaving Brighton to take over at Chelsea last month.
By contrast, the Seagulls had not won in their first five games under new boss Roberto De Zerbi, but that all changed in a dominant first half by Brighton.
Thiago Silva twice cleared off the Chelsea goal line in the first five minutes before Leandro Trossard fired home the opener.
The visitors were then their own worst enemies as both Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah deflected crosses into their own goal.
Kai Havertz's header early in the second half pulled a goal back, but Pascal Gross rounded off a memorable win for Brighton late on.