London (AFP)
Chelsea failed to win the fourth match in a row, in the English Premier League, by being satisfied with a 1-1 draw with its host Brighton Albion, in a match presented in the twenty-fourth stage.
The London club advanced through Moroccan Hakim Ziyech with a left-footed shot from outside the area. The goalkeeper did not improve in dealing with it, but the hosts who played a great match scored the deserved equalizer with Adam Webster’s header from a corner.
And Chelsea, the European champion, entered the match after falling last week against the defending champion Manchester City, to logically lose the opportunity to compete for the title, and the latter is taking a big step towards retaining it.
After the significant decline in the performance of the German coach Thomas Tuchel’s team in the past two months, by achieving one victory in the last seven matches in the league, he finds himself in third place with 44 points, 12 points from leaders Manchester City, and two points from the second Liverpool.
Although he criticized his attackers after the loss against City, Tochel kept Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Ziyech in the attack, while his compatriots Timo Werner and Kai Havertz remained on the bench before using them only ten minutes before the end.
Brighton have had just two wins in their last 16 league games, and have been once again a victim of poor finishing with their fine attacks.
It seems that the Blues’ goal will be limited to occupying a qualified position in the Champions League, knowing that it has reached the League Cup final at the expense of Tottenham, and will meet Liverpool or Arsenal.
It is noteworthy that Chelsea will meet Lille, the French champion, in the first round of the Champions League, and host it in London, first leg, on the 22nd of next month.
“We are tired, we tried to do everything, but you can see how tired we are mentally and physically,” said Chelsea coach Tuchel, whose team has played 15 games since the beginning of December.
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