BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - Hakim Ziyech's reaction to his goal said it all. Chelsea's standout moment in another disappointing night that dented hopelessly sluggish title hopes came in the middle of play in the middle of the first half as the Dutch-born attacker's deflected strike posted near Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. trapped inside.
A smile never even threatened to break his face. Only Jorginho's embrace stopped Ziyech from walking straight to the halfway line. Instead, his teammates rushed to attend what could very loosely be described as a celebration, and a frank conversation ensued between Ziyech, Mason Mount, and then Marcos Alonso, some of which Necessary pointing and pointing were involved.
By that moment Chelsea had been outclassed, and after Brighton rediscovered the level of the draw, this pattern continued into the second half with Adam Webster leveling and the home side eventually finding the winner in several promising moments. 1- arranged for. 1st draw - a familiar sentiment for Graham Potter's side this season.
Blues boss Thomas Tuchel called all this only a sign of fatigue. "We are mentally tired and physically tired and you can see it in our performance. It's as simple as that."
He was also happy to highlight Ziyech's inability to enjoy any joy from his first league goal since 1 December. "Happy - he can score 20 more and not celebrate, I don't have a problem with that," he said.
As the players left the pitch at half-time, Ziyech and Romelu Lukaku began another exchange, which could be described as a clear difference of opinion over Chelsea's approach to attack. The television camera accompanying them could barely get close, perhaps prompting Ziyech to at least cover his mouth to hide his part of the conversation, but Lukaku's despair was uncontrollable.
"It's normal that they talk, it's normal that they're not happy and it's normal if we say we want more from them," Tuchel said.
However, it threatens to be the worrying new normal for Chelsea.
Recent efforts are undoubtedly a mitigation factor; Brighton had an extra day to prepare for this game, having rearranged themselves after an original postponement due to COVID-19, and Chelsea's visit to Manchester City three days earlier will undoubtedly make an impression, given that That the side of Pep Guardiola chases down almost every opponent. ball. But it was hard to escape the feeling that Chelsea's negative body language ran deeper than simple fatigue.
His performance barely improved in the second half and inertia affected Tuchel, who started the first half in a generally animated form, frustrated by Chelsea's error-strewn play, dugout for the bulk of the second half. before retiring from his seat in . The 48-year-old has built a reputation for game-changing substitutions and tactical changes, but here he waited until the 80th minute to make a rare triple change, but by that stage it was already too late to reverse Brighton's momentum .
Later, the generally friendly Chelsea boss was abrupt in a television interview, when referencing the fourth consecutive league game without a win, urging the reporter repeatedly to "don't do it" - incidentally, the longest The long-standing Tuchel has experienced as a manager since October. 2016 at Borussia Dortmund.
The Blues last won in the Premier League on Boxing Day. Here, he barely hit a punch. Tuchel is hoping the two days off will trigger a revival.
"[We need it] so badly," he said. "You can say it's an excuse or whatever but it's like this. Look at our schedule, see the schedule when we get to Man City.
"We had a Carabao Cup match, they didn't. Now we get here, they had more days to prepare, they had a whole week to prepare. We've played since November, we play and play. Us Need to recharge the battery. We need to disconnect, that's my feeling, so we give players two days off."
They certainly already look quite different from the top of the table, where they were expected to be when they signed Lukaku for €115 million from Internazionale last summer.
The draw leaves Chelsea 12 points behind City, who have played one game more. Tottenham Hotspur are ahead at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and although they have comfortably beaten Spurs by two legs in their Carabao Cup semi-final this month, the defeat leaves them more vulnerable to being drawn into a top-four scrap with West Ham United Will give And among those who close the arsenal.
To complete a grueling evening, Tuchel dismisses a spontaneous question about Lukaku's personal performance.
"I won't talk about singles players today," he replied. "It's not about Romelu, there are too many questions about Romelu and too many answers about Romelu. Romelu isn't the problem so far, he's part of the solution."