2 years ago
A Manchester United old kid may simply have given the title to Pep Guardiola later Danny Welbeck fell off the seat to acquire Brighton a late, late point against Chelsea.
Assuming that sounds untimely, the looks on the essences of Thomas Tuchel's players said a lot. Heads bowed and eyes red, they walked towards the passage, knowing exactly how expensive an outcome this was.
It was not just that they dropped at this point more focuses on the thing has been a rebuffing mid-season droop. However, the way that for 91 minutes this had been a game that displayed the soul and guts of the European bosses in the most testing of conditions.
Notwithstanding watching Reece James and Andreas Christensen join a steadily stretching injury list, they endured a final part fightback from Brighton and came quite close to shutting the hole at the highest point of the table to only three places, as Manchester City confronted Brentford in the later startup.
Romelu Lukaku's first-half header had looked like being enough in a game that, while not persuading as far as quality from Chelsea, said a lot regarding their determination despite affliction. However, when Welbeck transcended substitute Trevoh Chalobah to head Marc Cucurella's cross into the top corner, it seemed like a loss, rather than a draw. Chelsea is at the stage where they just can't bear to provide City with anything else of an early advantage.
Pep Guardiola had effectively seen Liverpool surrender further ground in the title race on Tuesday night in disgrace to Leicester. Presently Chelsea has expanded a disturbing run that has seen them dominate only four matches from their last 10 - dropping 13 focuses from a potential 30.
Contrast that with City, who made it 10 straight successes later Wednesday's triumph against Brentford. Those are the kind of numbers the defending champs have delivered reliably under Guardiola, which is the reason even the tightest of leads in the table feel like quite a lot more in genuine terms.
With Chelsea facilitating Liverpool on Sunday, it is currently an absolute necessity dominant match for the two groups just to guarantee they are not totally cut loose at the turn of the year.
It was one more blindside for Chelsea, who have made a propensity for losing the lead late on at home. Their present run started with Burnley's 79th-minute equalizer back in November. Everton fixed them, harking back to the 74th-minute in their last game at Stamford Bridge before Christmas. Furthermore, now Brighton is in stoppage time.
Among those draws was Arthur Masuaku's 87th-minute champ for West Ham at the London Stadium.
However, this one will feel especially excruciating for Tuchel later James went down with a hamstring injury following 28 minutes, and Christensen was supplanted at the break in the wake of playing through the aggravation obstruction following a thump in the principal half.
That Chelsea came to half-time ahead was about the main positive for Tuchel later those wounds. Lukaku's 28th-minute header from a Mason Mount corner had terminated them in front to give them something to show for some sure forward play. Cesar Azpilicueta had as of now hit the post after another corner, while Mount likewise constrained a decent save from Robert Sanchez at the close post.
Brighton felt abused that Lukaku's objective was permitted to remain later his elbow got Neal Maupay in the development – leaving a cut on the striker's nose – however official Mike Dean disregarded requests.
The authority was engaged with another dubious occurrence later in the half while picking just to book Antonio Rudiger for a two-footed test on Tariq Lamptey.
Replays showed the safeguard had the two feet off the ground and didn't examine the control of his body, yet Dean thought of it as an alert as it were.
Brighton got their opportunities. Adam Lallana's strong exertion was parried by Edouard Mendy and Alexis Mac Allister constrained one more save from the Chelsea goalkeeper with a final part free-kick.
Bissouma then, at that point, had Mendy spilling from a distance as the guests filled in certainty. Rudiger's last-ditch block additionally snuffed out a Maupay possibility.
Christian Pulisic had a punishment bid denied from the get-go in the final part, which Tuchel depicted as a "joke." The Chelsea director then, at that point, sent for N'Golo Kante and the Frenchman's appearance seemed to kill off Brighton's invasion as he assumed responsibility for midfield.
Chelsea might have verified triumph late on when Lukaku was obstructed by Joel Veltman when through on objective. In any case, it appeared as though they would own it until Welbeck's late strike.
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