Thomas Tuchel explains why his Chelsea FC side failed to secure win at Brighton and Hove.

Thomas Tuchel's side started their game against Brighton poorly and were below par throughout.

Tuchel’s Blues have kept only two clean sheets in their last 13 Premier League matches. (BBC MOTD / Screen Shot)

Brighton came from behind to draw Chelsea 1-1 at the Amex Stadium.

For the second time in 20 days, Brighton and Hove Albion dealt Chelsea FC another blow to their Premier League title hopes, and after the game, Thomas Tuchel claimed his Blues were tired. Adam Webster was left unmarked as he ran into space to head in a corner kick in the second half, cancelling out Hakim Ziyech’s opener in the first part of the game. The West London club took the lead in the 28th minute via Ziyech, who struck home with a low strike from outside the box, but the Blues failed to build on their goal, leaving room for the hosts to step up a notch, which they eventually did for most parts of the second half at the Amex stadium. The result on the South Coast on Tuesday evening means the gap between Chelsea, who sit in the third spot, and Premier League table-toppers Manchester City is now 12 points.

Tuchel: ‘We need some days off.'

"We looked tired and we are. It's like this. We knew they were well prepared, had more time to prepare and you saw at the end that the stadium celebrated like it was a victory. That is what you face," Tuchel told BT Sport.

"We tried everything but you could see we were mentally and physically tired. "We need some days off. The boys need some days off there is no other solution. "I did not see many teams control Brighton over 90 minutes. They play bravely and bring people to your box to create chances. Of course, if you can take a half-chance for a second goal you can go out and win and this is what we normally would be up to. At the moment it is difficult to be too harsh on our players as I know what is going on. "I am happy. He can score 20 more and not celebrate I have no problem. It is normal that they talk, are not happy, and don't like it if we say we want more from them. Even in the reaction for the goal you can see they are tired. It is relief. That is my feeling of the team just now."

The Bavarian also confirmed that he will give his players two days' rest ahead of their Premier League clash against Tottenham on Sunday.

"They need this rest so badly. You can say it’s an excuse or whatever but it’s like this, look at our schedule. When we arrived at Man City, we had a Carabao Cup game before and they did not. Now we arrive here, they had more days to prepare, they had a whole week to prepare before.

"We play since November, the team that plays and plays and plays and plays. We need to recharge the batteries and we need to disconnect. This is my feeling, this is why we give the players two days off and then we will prepare for two days.

"We will use Friday and Saturday to prepare for Sunday because then it’s the next game against Tottenham."

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