“Like a defeat”- Blues duo disappointed with dropped points following the draw against Brighton

Chelsea duo vent frustration at dropped points after 1-1 draw with Brighton

Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton and Hove Albion, and the Blues duo of Mason Mount and Cesar Azpilicueta shared their displeasure with the result. The match saw the team drop more ground in the title race as Manchester City extended their lead with a 1-0 win against Brentford.

Thomas Tuchel’s side had many chances to kill off the match, but they were not clinical enough with their finishing touch. Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring through a corner kick from Mount just before the half-hour mark. Brighton had their chances to level the scoring, but it seemed like the hosts had the match in the bag as the final minutes were under their control. However, completely against the run of play, Danny Welbeck equalised at the death, dealing a damning blow in the process.

Speaking in an interview with the club’s media, Azpilicueta was frustrated with the outcome as they let the visitors back into the game by not taking their chances. He added that Graham Potter’s men had their chances, but his team should have been the victors had they been more clinical.

Chelsea duo vent frustration at dropped points after 1-1 draw with Brighton.
Chelsea had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Brighton for their final game of 2021. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

“It’s really disappointing. We left them alive and of course in the last minute to concede a goal and drop two points is very frustrating. We knew Brighton make things difficult and we know they would press us high, and they would leave us big chances also for us, so we catch them in a few quick attacks where we could have been more clinical.”

Agony!

The 22-year-old also had a similar reaction when he spoke in an interview with the club’s official media. He added that the result feels like a defeat rather than a draw since he believes his team deserved to win even if the opponents had their opportunities. He mentioned his side were better overall, making the outcome a difficult pill to swallow.

“When we draw late on like that it definitely does feel like a defeat. I know that they made it very difficult and in the second half they were pushing and had more chances, but we still felt like we controlled it and we had chances of our own that we should have done better with. When they scored late on it was gutting.”

Mason Mount was denied a goal after the referee pulled back play for a foul.
Mason Mount was denied a goal after the referee pulled back play for a foul. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

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We have had a drop off in recent times compared to how we were at the start of the season. Sure other issues like Covid and the injury crisis add to the list of problems, but in games like this, it is clear how we should have done a better job to prevent moments like these.

What makes it worse is how we are set to run into a difficult couple of months with few breathers in between. Ideally, we should have had a good run of form going into January and February, but this would be concerning when you look at the schedule.

However, we should overcome these adversities by using the upcoming challenges as a motivation to get back into the title race. The season is still long, and we have every chance of fighting back into contention if we maintain consistency from here on.