BRIGHTON fans celebrated Danny Welbeck’s last-gasp leveller by chucking a blue flare on the pitch – just as Chelsea’s title charge looked to be going up in smoke.
Thomas Tuchel’s side had taken the lead through Romelu Lukaku’s first-half header but never looked comfortable.
To make matters worse, the Blues lost Reece James to what looked to be a serious injury in the first half in the same week Ben Chilwell was ruled out for the season.
Brighton had never even scored at Stamford Bridge in their history but were inspired as they mounted wave after wave of attacks on Edouard Mendy’s goal.
Eventually, right at the death, one of them counted as sub Welbeck rose to meet Marc Cucurella’s cross and plant a header into the corner of the net in injury time.
It was a hammer blow to Tuchel but one that he could not claim was undeserved as Albion edged the game as a whole and were unlucky not to take all three points.
But it was yet another stuttering display from the European champions – their fourth draw at home in five Premier League games – which left them EIGHT points off top dogs Manchester City.
One crumb of comfort was a fabulous first-half display from the returning Lukaku, who has suffered a stop-start season since returning to the club for £97.5million in the summer due to Covid and injury.
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He finally looked fit and frightening, and if he can stay that way then perhaps Chelsea can keep up the fight to Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions.
But with more key players being lost to injury, it is looking unlikely.
For all Lukaku’s supremacy up top, this was far from a dominant performance from Chelsea.
Brighton thumbed their nose at a head-to-head record which showed their only ever win against the Blues came before the Second World War by causing their hosts no end of problems.
Mendy had to be on top of his game as Graham Potter’s side put together wave after wave of attacks, especially in the second half.
Antonio Rudiger was lucky to see only a yellow for a reckless, two-footed challenge on Tariq Lamptey just before the break.
It was a typical festive ding-dong of a football match, where fatigue plays its part – as managers like Tuchel never stop carping on about – but the entertainment goes up.
Cesar Azpilicueta almost marked his 450th appearance for the club with a goal 17 minutes in as his deflected shot struck the post, before Rudiger headed James’ cross powerfully at Rob Sanchez.
Andreas Christensen then fell to the ground and looked as if he was about to be replaced by Trevor Chalobah, but hobbled on until half-time when that change did take place.
Before that though came the hammer blow of James’ injury.
The Three Lions star has been sensational this season – just like Chilwell – with the wing-backs so crucial to Chelsea’s success.
It took James several minutes to be helped off but strangely, the break in play caught the visitors cold as seconds later, Lukaku shook off Neal Maupay to power Mason Mount’s corner into the net.
Maupay’s protests for a possible foul from the Belgian were waved away by ref Mike Dean and the goal given.
But instead of giving Chelsea a platform from which to win the game comfortably, it galvanised Graham Potter’s side who were repelled again and again by Mendy.
The Senegalese stopper denied good hits from Adam Lallana and Alexis Mac Allister before the break.
He was called into more action after it as he beat away Mac Allister’s cheeky free-kick and Yves Bissouma’s rocket from distance.
Jakub Moder’s stab from Lallana’s cute cross mercifully dropped onto the roof of the net.
Despite the onslaught, Chelsea still should have wrapped it up when Lukaku sent Callum Hudson-Odoi but instead of shooting, the England winger tried to square for Mount and got it horribly wrong.
And it cost them dearly when sub Welbeck sent the away fans potty in injury time for yet another last-gasp Brighton equaliser this season, following similar scenarios at Crystal Palace and Southampton.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
