Chelsea lost more ground in the Premier League title race after dropping points at Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday night.
Result: Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 Chelsea
Date: 18 January 2022
Venue: AMEX Stadium
Blues coach Thomas Tuchel recalled Jorginho, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount, while Steven Alzate and Danny Welbeck came in for Neal Maupay and Leandro Trossard.
The Seagulls enjoyed a bright start to the first half, with Welbeck causing the opposition defence a couple problems although goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga barely had a save to make.
For all of Brighton's early pressure, it was the Blues who broke the deadlock in the 28th minute when Hakim Ziyech caught Robert Sanchez unaware at his near post with a strike from distance.
That proved to be the final effort at goal in the first half as the visitors struggled to create openings, with Romelu Lukaku cutting a frustrated figure upfront.
Brighton came out firing in the second half and got their reward on the hour mark when Adam Webster lost his marker in the box to head home an in-swinging corner from Alexis Mac Allister.
Chelsea managed to carve out a chance for Lukaku in the 72nd minute, but the Belgian striker saw his volley turned away by Sanchez after getting behind the Brighton defence.
With time running out, Tuchel made a triple change for the final 10 minutes as Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Mateo Kovacic replaced Lukaku, Jorginho and Ziyech.
Brighton surprisingly looked more likely to get a goal in the closing stages, but they could not carve out an opening as the sides settled for a point a piece.
