Chelsea drop more points in Premier League title race as Welbeck heads in late equaliser

Chelsea drop more points in Premier League title race as Welbeck heads in late equaliser

A Romelu Lukaku goal in the first half was not enough for Chelsea to grab all three points on home soil against Brighton & Hove Albion, who netted a late equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues started off better and they pushed forward for an opener, but they were unlucky as they hit the post 17 minutes in following Cesar Azpilicueta’s effort from inside the box.

Chelsea did manage to capitalise on their superiority in the first half an hour, with Lukaku breaking the deadlock in the 28th minute to put Thomas Tuchel’s side ahead.

Brighton grew into the game, though, and Adam Lallana wasted a big chance to equalise 10 minutes later, when the former Liverpool midfielder was denied by a solid Edouard Mendy. The Senegalese shot-stopper pulled off another two huge saves in the second half to deny Alexis Mac Allister and Yves Bissouma in the 52nd and 54th minutes respectively.

From that point on, Chelsea looked to be in control of the game. The hosts pushed for a second in their bid to put the game to end, but they lacked a final pass in attack and were then punished by the visitors.

When everything indicated that Chelsea would come out victorious from this game, Danny Welbeck made the most of a precise Marc Cucurella cross and headed home to level the game in stoppage time.

Chelsea are now sitting second in the Premier League table eight points behind Manchester City who defeated Brentford 1-0, while Brighton are currently 10th with 24 points after 18 games played.