Chelsea dropped points for the sixth time in seven Premier League matches after drawing 1-1 at Brighton on Tuesday night.
Brighton began the more positive of the two teams and had Kepa Arrizabalaga sprawling at Jakub Moder’s early effort, which dragged wide of the far-post.
More pressure from the Seagulls kept the Blues mooted yet Hakim Ziyech gave the visitors the lead after 28 minutes.
A speculative effort from the Moroccan flashed through two Brighton defenders and caught Robert Sanchez off guard, the Spaniard beaten at his near-post by the pace of the strike.
The hosts’ efforts continued in spite of the setback and they were rewarded early in the second-half when Adam Webster ran around the melee to slam home a header from Alex MacAllister’s corner.
As the game went on, Brighton looked the more likely to snatch a winner and Neal Maupay was found flat-footed after a cross into the box from the excellent Tariq Lamptey.
With ten minutes remaining, Thomas Tuchel finally resorted to his bench with a triple substitution. Romelu Lukaku was among those departing after a bad night which once again failed to play to his strengths.
But Brighton saw out the final pressure with a handful of openings still to come for the hosts, who took a deserved point to cement their top-half position.
