Thomas Tuchel has admitted that his Chelsea side are mentally and physically tired amidst a busy schedule and the German revealed that he would give his players two days off before their game against Tottenham. Chelsea underwent a difficult away trip to Brighton and only secured a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea underwent an away trip to Brighton on Tuesday night as they looked to close the deficit to Manchester City in the title race. The Seagulls started the game brightly but weren’t able to capitalize on their superior possession as they looked to break down a resilient Chelsea side. The Blues took the lead against the run of play in the 28th minute as Hakim Ziyech lashed a shot from outside the box which beat the Seagulls goalkeeper at his near post. The Seagulls grew into the game in the second half and broke down Chelsea’s backline in the 60th minute as Adam Webster thumped a header home following a corner kick.

Both teams had their chances to go ahead but ultimately were forced to settle for a stalemate at the Falmer Stadium. The European champions are winless in their last four Premier League outings, drawing three as they missed the chance to go above rivals Liverpool into second. Tuchel was quick to admit that his side’s lethargic performance was due to fatigue amidst a busy schedule.

“I answered this question a hundred times, if you look at our situation of long-term injuries, of key players injured, and of Covid and you look at our schedule you will have the answer. We are mentally tired and physically tired, you can see it in our performance, it’s as easy as that. We need to recharge the batteries, we need to reconnect. This is my feeling, that’s why I give the players two days off and then we will use Friday and Saturday to prepare for Sunday,” Tuchel told Sky Sports.