Tau's Brighton Snatch A Point At Chelsea
21 April, 2021
Premier League
Result: Chelsea 0-0 Brighton and Hove Albion
Date: 20 April 2021
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Chelsea moved in to the top four despite playing to a goalless in the home to Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday evening.
The Blues made four changes from the FA Cup semi-final make an impression on Manchester City, as Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma, Marcos Alonso and Christian Pulisic were all recalled while Percy Tau had not been in the matchday squad for Brighton.
Wiith the overall game was free-flowing in the early stages, Hakim Ziyech came near opening the scoring for Chelsea in the 20th minute after latching onto a mistake by Adam Webster in a dangerous position but his strike was saved by Robert Sanchez.
Zouma had an opportunity to lob Sanchez, who was simply out of his area an instant later with a strike from range however the Spanish shot-stopper backtracked in time to help make the save.
The Seagulls were gaining momentum in the closing phase of the first stanza and Yves Bissouma had a chance to provide them with the lead right before the break after a cross by Joel Veltman but his first-time shot was crucially blocked by Jorginho.
The Blues were on leading foot from the break but they cannot breakdown Brighton's rearguard which prompted Thomas Tuchel to introduce Timo Werner came on for Kai Havertz while Callum Hudson-Odoi replaced Alonso.
The overall game remained in the balance in the last quarter of an hour and Graham Potter also looked for inspiration from the bench with a tactical change, as striker Neal Maupay came on for midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.
Adam Lallana had an excellent chance to snatch the winner for Brighton in the last 12 minutes after Maupay pounced on a blunder at the trunk by Chelsea and set him up inside box but he curled his strike wide.
The Blues' defence was sloppy again simply a minute later, giving Danny Welbeck a great chance to have a sweeping strike that deflected off Antonio Rudiger and hit the post and Kepa smothered Lallana's strike from the follow-up.
The clash ended on a sour note for the visitors who had Ben White sent off for another yellow card, but it did not affect the overall game as the come across finished goalless, sending the Blues above West Ham United into fourth while Brighton sit seven points above the drop zone.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za