Chelsea news: Thomas Tuchel says injury and COVID-19 crisis is too much after the draw against Brighton

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was left frustrated after the 1-1 draw against Brighton on Wednesday. Brighton forward Danny Welbeck scored a stoppage time equalizer to earn a point for Graham Potter’s side at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile Tuchel’s problems worsened as they lost Adreas Christensen and Reece James through injuries, joining a long list of players in the medical room. The German tactician was also not happy with some of the refereeing decisions on Wednesday.

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Chelsea were without their two full-back’s as Ben Chilwell was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury and Marcos Alonso was rested. Therefore Tuchel deployed James as the left-wing-back and winger Christian Pulisic as the make-shift right-wing-back. James struggled against Tariq Lamptey before being substituted following a hard challenge from the former Chelsea man that left the 22-year-old immediately signaling to the bench.

“We knew before that this was going to be a tough match against a strong side,” he said in his post-match press conference.

“They come well prepared. It’s always like this. I have not seen one team play a nice match against them, so it was clear we would struggle.

“We simply have way too many players of whom we don’t know what we can demand. They come from long injuries, they come from Covid. I simply don’t know what they are capable of doing.

“We started very, very well, until the injury for Reece James, which was a huge blow. Then we lose Andreas Christensen, who was until then again one of the top players on the pitch.

“At some point, it’s too much. That’s why I can understand that you struggle if you play against a Brighton side with nothing to lose and playing with confidence.”

The draw leaves Chelsea in the second spot with 42 points, 8 behind leaders Manchester City, who defeated Brentford 1-0 to extend their unbeaten run to 10 League games and strengthen their grip at the summit.

We have to adapt to the demands of the situation: Tuchel

Tuchel gave little reassurance that his team his capable of making up the gap because of the number of abestees due to COVID-19 and injuries.

“We have seven Covid cases, we have four or five key players out for six or more weeks,” he said. “How should we compete in a title race?

“Everyone else who has a full squad, and everybody in training every day, has the full power to come through this league.

“We would be stupid to think we can do it out of Covid and injuries and just play, and everybody would be stupid to do it without 23 fit players.”

Asked whether he felt the integrity of the Premier League season had been lost, he added: “This is the reality, this is where we are and we have to adapt to the demands of the situation which you are in.

“I competed very hard for the win at Brighton at home. I don’t know what I can expect from my players in terms of physicality, intensity or minutes. Nobody knows any more because we have never done something like this. We play trial and error and see what we can do.

“I will protect my team. We can play better but we need the full squad over weeks and weeks.”