Chelsea extended their undefeated Premier League campaign to four games and missed out on a second-place finish in a 1-1 draw with Brighton.
Thomas Tuchel’s side could have outscored Liverpool with a victory over Amex, and took the lead in the first half when Hakim Ziyech hit home from the top of the net in the 28th minute.
Brighton showed a lot of understatement and looked for other results that the goals matched their performance. But for an hour, the unknown Adam Webster – who was named captain in the evening – shook his head to see the Seagulls play five undefeated games in the Premier League.
Tuchel provided a review of Chelsea BT Sport After the game, he said: “We looked tired. We knew he was well prepared, he had a lot of time to prepare for the game and you see in the end after the whistle is over, the stadium is celebrating as a victory. This is what you are experiencing.
“We want our best to overcome these obstacles, so no matter what the team, we did everything but you can see we were mentally and physically exhausted.
“We need a break, we have two days off and then two days to prepare for the next game at home against Tottenham. The boys need days off, there is no other way.”
The 15-minute opener was quiet at Amex Stadium, and Brighton could have taken the lead. Danny Welbeck threw the ball in the direction of Jakub Moder, but he just sent in his effort. It took 14 minutes for Chelsea to fire for the first time when Cesar Azpilicueta’s attempts were followed by Robert Sanchez.
The game continued and all of a sudden, Chelsea took the lead before half-time. It was a spectacular match between N’Golo Kante and Ziyech on the right before he swept the ball under Alexis Mac Allister’s outstretched leg. Sanchez held his hand to it but it passed him and he headed back into the net.
Chelsea threatened a second recently when Marcos Alonso fired from the left, but Sanchez was there to strike. Then Jorginho jumped into the ring. It was a similar story for Callum Hudson-Odoi just before half-time, who seemed to be getting better in the corner, but raised his efforts on the cross.
Brighton continued to steal in several reliable places in the first half, but finished without a shot. However, as soon as the break was over, he shot Chelsea. Welbeck was fed to the left of the area, but raised his shot.
In one hour, Brighton scored twice – and one was equal. It came from a corner, won by Mac Allister as Kepa pushed his efforts closer to the finish line. The midfielder then awarded the share, Webster was not named and was able to direct the ball at home.
Jamie Carragher later commented on the defender on Twitter: “Adam Webster is coming out the back, and both feet are better than any English midfielder.”
Shortly after the goal, Welbeck made his way to Neal Maupay and Brighton took another gear. The replacement continued to play Chelsea’s defensive line, as Webster’s Lionel Messi ran into the area and saw his easily accessible ball with Kepa.
Both teams continued to push for the winner and Tuchel – who is on the verge of winning as the best men’s coach at the FIFA Best Monday award – showed his goal in the 80th minute when he took three places, bringing in Matthew Kovacic, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
But the trio were unable to persuade Chelsea to win – Kovacic put in a lot of effort – while the Blues missed out on equal opportunities with Manchester City at first. They remain third on 44 points, one point behind Liverpool with two games in hand.
Brighton are still in the ninth with their resume continuing, and now they have one eye on a possible move to Europe, just three points behind Manchester United in the seventh.
Tuchel: Not a time for team violence
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel:
“We have to respect the opposition – it’s very difficult to play in Brighton. He played like a cup and the noise at the end of the whistle was like we lost and it can give you a sense of loss, but we didn’t.
“Some teams will struggle to get points here, even if they are strong if you have all the energy and don’t get tired, there are some obstacles you can overcome here and I refuse to get angry because they don’t want to.
“We were lucky to be ahead 1-0 and you can take advantage of the second goal, but it was difficult for us to show clearly. We know the reasons why this is and we want more from us. To be the toughest team on the team.”
Potter was pleased with Brighton’s performance
Brighton manager Graham Potter to BT Sport:
“We are very happy and proud of the way the game went. We gave Chelsea a good game. Our performance was full of everything. It was not easy because they have top players but the courage of our defenders … I was pleased with it.
“We were good at the game and the boys thought I was doing well. Chelsea don’t offer much so you have to work hard. Maybe we can test him but I think we have everything.
“Adam Webster and Dan Burn were great, we seemed to enjoy our football which is important. Players give everything and when they make a mistake they work hard and recover. As a coach that’s all you can ask for.
“You can see what the following did. He paid a lot of money and was happy with the way he did it.”
Man of the game – Adam Webster
Adam Webster celebrates his resemblance to Chelsea
Captain of the back players. Not only did he do his job in the back – lifting more goals in the Brighton team (6) – he shook his head well in Brighton’s equalized attempt and contributed some more attacking minutes.
He said BT Sport: “In the first half, we were a very good team and it was a special goal and a little bit.
deviation.
“It was difficult for us, because we were a good team, but we stayed the same as we did all season.
“We’ve gone back a lot and we’ve been showing a lot of people to come back and take part in the game.”
Opta statistics – Brighton are at the top with Chelsea failing again
- Brighton are now undefeated in their last three Premier League games against teams from day one in the top three (D3), having lost 17 of their previous 22 games (W3 D2).
- After four clean sheets in five games, Chelsea have just retained just four pages in their last 16 games in all competitions.
- All four of Hakim Ziyech’s Premier League goals for Chelsea came from home, hitting Turf Moor, Etihad Stadium, Vicarage Road and Amex Stadium.
- Chelsea have scored two head goals in the Premier League this season, both scored by Brighton players; Danny Welbeck in December and Adam Webster tonight.
What’s next?
Sunday 23 January 4:00 pm
It starts at 4:30 pm
Brighton return on Sunday when they face Leicester in the Premier League; from 2pm. Chelsea play the same day and face another big blow when they host Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, right now Sky Games; from 4.30pm.
