Chelsea fans react as Danny Welbeck steals a point for Brighton with stoppage time goal
They did all they could, but it was just not enough as Chelsea had to settle for a point against a tough Brighton and Hove Albion side.
Thomas Tuchel had made his frustrations clear playing through the festive break with Covid-19 and injury issues. Yet, the Chelsea boss fielded a strong starting XI against the Seagulls. They started out brightly, with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Mason Mount attacking the opposition goal constantly with crosses.
However, Tuchel’s worst nightmare came to life after Reece James pulled up following a rough tackle by former Chelsea boy Tariq Lamptey. The full-back had to be substituted moments after it felt like Andreas Christensen was also going to be forced into a change. Regardless, Marcos Alonso was introduced into the game.
Minutes after the change, the Blues won a corner, and Romelu Lukaku headed home for the second consecutive league game. The gaffer rejoiced as the men in blue were given a cushion to fight for on the night. But Brighton grew into the game and took possession of the ball. Fortunately, they could not create anything meaningful in the first half.
Title challenge over?
The second half began, and Tuchel brought on Trevoh Chalobah for Christensen, who was labouring in the dying minutes of the opening half. The Seagulls came out fighting and were first to every second ball and left very little margin for error. Adam Lallana and Yves Bissouma were dominating the midfield battle as Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho were labouring on.
It was clear that several Chelsea stars were suffering from fatigue. The East Sussex-based side dominated the opening 20 minutes of the second half and Tuchel then brought N’Golo Kante to gain some sort of control over the game. Sure enough, the Blues started creating again and were not allowing Brighton to charge ahead.
The clock ticked 90, and the German manager believed his side had all three points in the bag. However, a minute later, Danny Welbeck got the equalizer with a looping header. The visiting side deserved it, considering they were arguably the better side on the night.
Liverpool lost against Leicester City last night, and this was our chance to go ahead before hosting the Merseyside club at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Moreover, the gap between us and Man City has only increased, making the title challenge further out of reach. Let us now see how some fans reacted on Twitter to the tiring 1-1 draw against Graham Potter and co.
Spoils shared tonight. ⏱#CheBha pic.twitter.com/qLd9bEBave
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 29, 2021
Back Tuchel in January
— Pys (@CFCPys) December 29, 2021
Chelsea played poorly against Brighton; The club has lost major points when this could’ve been an easy win. The team needs to seriously step it up during the upcoming games & race for the Premier League title. Best of luck to the Champions of Europe.
— Daniel Regha (@DanielRegha) December 29, 2021
FT Chelsea 1-1 Brighton
— Nicholas Benedict (@N1cBenedict) December 29, 2021
Barely survived a tsunami
Comeback was inevitable
Jorginho bullied by a team in baby blue 😭
Bissouma running over our donut midfield
Tuchel only one tactical sub after two injuries; Kante Uno Reverse Card
Still can’t get over the line
Speechless
8 points behind Man City as it stands. No chance we win the title
— CfcSheikh (@CfcSheikh) December 29, 2021
Chelsea were never winning the league in the first place we have too many inconsistent players for us to sustain a title challenge, in two years time awith Tuchel we will be ready
— dmkodabest (@dmkodabest) December 29, 2021
Jorginho is the downfall of this team. Until Tuchel realizes that, we’ll have more nights like this.
— The_CfcFanatic (@CfcFanatic) December 29, 2021
More Chelsea News
- Barcelona contacted Chelsea centre-back duo Cesar Azpilicueta and Andreas Christensen for a summer transfer
- Transfer News: Lazio shortlist Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi among top targets in January
- Everton to sell Lucas Digne in January transfer window as Chelsea are interested
Unbelievable
— Karabo GP (@karabo_dire) December 29, 2021
More points dropped 🙆♂️ pic.twitter.com/V0hXIApHkW