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Brighton 1-1 Chelsea: Albion further damage Blues’ title hopes

Adam Webster heads in for Brighton
Chelsea have kept only two clean sheets in their last 13 Premier League matches

Brighton provided another huge blow to Chelsea’s dwindling hopes of winning this season’s Premier League title by coming from behind to claim a well-deserved draw at the Amex Stadium.

Adam Webster found all the space he needed to head in from a corner in the second half and give the home side a point to reward a display full of energy and endeavour.

Thomas Tuchel’s side started poorly and lacked authority throughout, opening the scoring against the run of play through Hakim Ziyech’s well-struck low drive from outside the box.

But they failed to build on the moment, never looking assured, and for all their desperate intent simply could not find a way to restore their lead and claim the vital win.

The gap between the third-placed Blues and imperious leaders Manchester City is 12 points, with Thomas Tuchel’s side having played a game more – surely an insurmountable gulf.

Brighton are now unbeaten in six games in all competitions and continue to grow in confidence and class under Graham Potter.

Lifted by their equaliser, they looked the side far more likely to win the game in the final 30 minutes, instead having to settle for a point that leaves them on 29, three short of a European qualification spot.

Albion again demonstrate their progress under Potter

Brighton can take great pride in being the bookends for a 21-day period that has seen Chelsea’s title hopes dwindle.

The two points Albion have claimed from those games will do less for their own league standing than the four they have denied the Blues will do to damage theirs, but they are symbolic of the huge strides this side is taking under Potter.

In both of those games, Brighton have had to come from behind, but each time a draw was the least they deserved against a side packed with elite talent, managed by a coach Fifa consider the best in the world and with fresh memories of European glory.

At Stamford Bridge they managed 18 efforts at goal before Danny Welbeck nodded in the last of them in injury time.

The stats say they had eight shots in total at the Amex, but this barely does justice to the pressure they applied, the territory they claimed and the promising openings that went begging but for a misplaced pass or a last-gasp interception.

Despite leaving out first-choice forward pair Neal Maupay and Leandro Trossard, the Seagulls looked a constant threat. Jakub Moder fired just wide early on, Welbeck fluffed a couple of shots, crosses flew regularly through the box as the European champions dug in.

Webster’s equalising header from Alexis Mac Allister’s corner was as good as any you will see – powerful and precise after a run to evade a marker and into space.

The harshest critic might suggest that Albion have once again failed to make their dominance count – something Potter’s side were booed off the pitch for here not too long ago.

But this is a side punching way above its weight and on the up.

More to follow.

Player of the match

WebsterAdam Webster

with an average of 8.11

Brighton & Hove Albion

  1. Squad number4Player nameWebster
    Average rating

    8.11

  2. Squad number2Player nameLamptey
    Average rating

    7.97

  3. Squad number3Player nameCucurella

    Average rating

    7.81

  4. Squad number33Player nameBurn

    Average rating

    7.47

  5. Squad number10Player nameMac Allister

    Average rating

    7.39

  6. Squad number17Player nameAlzate

    Average rating

    7.11

  7. Squad number15Player nameModer

    Average rating

    7.05

  8. Squad number11Player nameTrossard

    Average rating

    7.04

  9. Squad number18Player nameWelbeck

    Average rating

    6.95

  10. Squad number34Player nameVeltman

    Average rating

    6.88

  11. Squad number1Player nameSánchez

    Average rating

    6.86

  12. Squad number20Player nameMarch

    Average rating

    6.84

  13. Squad number13Player nameGroß

    Average rating

    6.73

  14. Squad number9Player nameMaupay

    Average rating

    5.73

Chelsea

  1. Squad number6Player nameThiago Silva

    Average rating

    5.82

  2. Squad number1Player nameArrizabalaga

    Average rating

    5.68

  3. Squad number28Player nameAzpilicueta

    Average rating

    5.40

  4. Squad number7Player nameKanté

    Average rating

    5.16

  5. Squad number2Player nameRüdiger

    Average rating

    5.13

  6. Squad number22Player nameZiyech

    Average rating

    4.87

  7. Squad number8Player nameKovacic

    Average rating

    4.51

  8. Squad number19Player nameMount

    Average rating

    4.49

  9. Squad number11Player nameWerner

    Average rating

    4.41

  10. Squad number3Player nameAlonso

    Average rating

    4.22

  11. Squad number29Player nameHavertz

    Average rating

    4.17

  12. Squad number20Player nameHudson-Odoi

    Average rating

    3.95

  13. Squad number5Player nameJorginho

    Average rating

    3.87

  14. Squad number9Player nameLukaku

    Average rating

    3.37

Line-ups

Brighton

Formation 4-1-4-1

  • 1Sánchez
  • 34Veltman
  • 4Webster
  • 33BurnBooked at 80mins
  • 3Cucurella
  • 17Alzate
  • 2LampteySubstituted forMarchat 76′minutes
  • 13GroßSubstituted forMaupayat 62′minutes
  • 10Mac Allister
  • 18WelbeckSubstituted forTrossardat 62′minutes
  • 15Moder

Substitutes

  • 9Maupay
  • 11Trossard
  • 16Scherpen
  • 20March
  • 25Caicedo
  • 28Roberts
  • 38McGill
  • 42Leonard
  • 58Ferguson

Chelsea

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Arrizabalaga
  • 28Azpilicueta
  • 6Thiago Silva
  • 2RüdigerBooked at 81mins
  • 3AlonsoBooked at 59mins
  • 7Kanté
  • 5JorginhoSubstituted forKovacicat 80′minutes
  • 22ZiyechSubstituted forWernerat 80′minutes
  • 19Mount
  • 20Hudson-Odoi
  • 9LukakuSubstituted forHavertzat 80′minutes

Substitutes

  • 8Kovacic
  • 10Pulisic
  • 11Werner
  • 12Loftus-Cheek
  • 13Bettinelli
  • 17Saúl
  • 29Havertz
  • 31Sarr
  • 75Hall

Referee:
Kevin Friend

Attendance:
30,880

Match Stats

Live Text

  1. Match ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 1, Chelsea 1.

  2. Second Half ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 1, Chelsea 1.

  3. Attempt blocked. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Callum Hudson-Odoi.

  4. Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Marc Cucurella.

  5. Foul by Marcos Alonso (Chelsea).

  6. Solly March (Brighton and Hove Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.

  7. Attempt blocked. Leandro Trossard (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Solly March with a cross.

  8. Attempt blocked. Neal Maupay (Brighton and Hove Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Adam Webster.

  9. Attempt missed. Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left following a corner.

  10. Corner, Chelsea. Conceded by Neal Maupay.

  11. Offside, Brighton and Hove Albion. Neal Maupay tries a through ball, but Leandro Trossard is caught offside.

  12. Attempt blocked. Timo Werner (Chelsea) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mateo Kovacic.

  13. Attempt blocked. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

  14. Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea) is shown the yellow card.

  15. Substitution, Chelsea. Timo Werner replaces Hakim Ziyech.

  16. Substitution, Chelsea. Mateo Kovacic replaces Jorginho.

  17. Substitution, Chelsea. Kai Havertz replaces Romelu Lukaku.

  18. Dan Burn (Brighton and Hove Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

  19. Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

  20. Foul by Dan Burn (Brighton and Hove Albion).

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