Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said his players her physically and mentally tired, as they produced another lacklustre performance in the 1-1 Premier League draw at Brighton on Tuesday.

Chelsea’s fading title hopes suffered another setback after Hakim Ziyech’s first-half opener was cancelled out by stand-in Albion skipper Adam Webster.

It extended Chelsea’s run to just two wins in their last nine league games and left them 12 points off leaders Manchester City having been top themselves at the start of December.

Tuchel once again bemoaned his club’s punishing schedule and now plans to give his players two days off ahead of Sunday’s home game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Asked to explain the recent poor league form, the German replied: “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.”

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