Tuchel has the Blues after Brighton draw

LONDON • Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel vented frustration at a snowballing injury crisis, and some refereeing decisions, as the Blues fell further behind English Premier League leaders Manchester City with a 1-1 home draw against Brighton on Wednesday.

The German was left hopping on the touchline as his players put in an error-strewn performance that he blamed on a string of injuries and Covid-19 cases that have stretched the team.

"It's too much, at some point it's too much," a visibly strained Tuchel said, after he saw Reece James hobble off with a hamstring injury before fellow defender Andreas Christensen went off at half-time with a back problem.

"This is where we are and you need to adapt your demands to the situation you are in. We need a full squad over weeks and weeks, and then we can play much better."

Chelsea's personnel crisis began in October when strikers Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were injured in the same match. Since then, they have lost defender Ben Chilwell to a long-term knee injury and seen N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Thiago Silva, Kai Havertz and others sidelined by injuries and the coronavirus.

The Blues sought in vain to have their Dec 19 match against Wolves postponed because of their shortage of fit players and Tuchel said he simply did not know what his squad were capable of now.

"We have simply way too many players who we don't know what we can demand," he said.

"We have seven Covid cases, we have four or five players out for six weeks. Why should we compete in a title race?"

City's 1-0 win over Brentford on the same night saw them extending their lead over Chelsea (42) to eight points, with third-placed Liverpool a further point adrift but with a game in hand.

Tuchel's side went ahead when Lukaku rose the highest to meet a corner from Mason Mount in the 28th minute, taking advantage of a makeshift Brighton defence that was missing centre-back stalwarts Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy.

But the spirited visitors pushed hard for their first goal at Stamford Bridge and had Chelsea pinned back for long periods in the second half.

The Blues reasserted a degree of control when Tuchel sent on Kante as a substitute to shore up his midfield.

But just when it seemed as if the hosts were going to hang on for three vital points, Danny Welbeck rose between defenders Antonio Rudiger and Trevoh Chalobah to head in a Marc Cucurella cross in the 91st minute.

Tuchel also criticised referee Michael Dean for not awarding Chelsea what he said was a "100 per cent penalty" for a challenge on Christian Pulisic and for blowing his whistle before a shot from Mount crossed the line after a "50-50" challenge.

"Why does the ref need to whistle before the ball is over the line? Is he so sure?" the German said, suggesting Dean should have allowed the play to continue and then get the VAR (video assistant referee) system to check for a foul.

The Chelsea boss must now try to pull his squad together for what could be a defining couple of weeks in their faltering push for the league title.

They host Liverpool on Sunday before visiting City on Jan 15.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS