Chelsea failed to capitalise on the results of their top-four rivals as they slumped to a stale 0-0 draw against Brighton.
The Seagulls’ Ben White was sent off late on in the match where the action on the field failed to match the action off it as the sides played out a tepid draw at Stamford Bridge.
Fans took to the streets before the match to protest over the proposed European Super League leading to a 15-minute delay to kick off.
This happened to be the main highlight of the evening as both sides failed to produce enough quality to take all three points.
Nonetheless a point was enough to see Chelsea leapfrog West Ham into the top four via goal difference ahead of their crucial clash on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Brighton edged closer to safety extending the gap to the drop to seven points with six matches remaining.
Thomas Tuchel remained tight-lipped on the European Super League
Chelsea had announced on Sunday that they were apart of the 12 breakaway teams prepared to compete in a new European Super League.
However, moments before kick-off reports suggested that Chelsea were in the process of withdrawing their commitment to the new competition.
Despite the drama, Thomas Tuchel refused to be drawn into whether the decisions about the European Super League had a negative impact on his players’ performance on the evening.
Tuchel said: ‘There are no excuses, we are very disappointed with the result and the performance today as we didn’t really deserve to win the match.
‘We will never find out how much of a distraction the past few days have been to the players but the distraction was there and we had to accept it.
‘We could not find our best game today but we played against a strong opponent and we could not find the decisive breakthrough.
‘The build-up was a bit strange because nobody was talking about the match and you could feel that, but I have enough to think about already after this performance, we need to build our confidence up again because we have to prepare now for a crucial match against West Ham.’
Blues lacked creativity
The first half saw Chelsea dominate the ball without being able to penetrate the Brighton defence.
It took until the 16th minute for the Blues’ first meaningful shot as Christian Pulisic spun into space in the box but skewed his left-footed shot well wide.
The only real chance of the half came as Brighton’s White’s loose touch allowed Kai Havertz to pounce but the German spurned the golden opportunity to break the deadlock as his shot was struck straight at goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
The Seagulls grew into the match and their best chance came into the 41st-minute when Yves Bissouma’s deflected shot from the edge of the box looped narrowly over the crossbar with Kepa Arrizabalaga stranded.
The pattern continued in the second half as neither team was able to find the breakthrough.
The Blues continued to dominate the ball but failed to create anything of note. Instead it was the visitors that came closest to stealing all three points.
Neil Maupay dispossessed Kurt Zouma on the edge of the box and Adam Lallana drove in on goal but, typical of the finishing on the night, sent his effort well wide.
Two minutes later, Danny Welbeck tried his luck from 25 yards out and his curling effort agonisingly rebounded off the post before his follow-up effort was well blocked by Antonio Rudiger to keep the match goalless.
The Blues created their best opportunities of the match after the introduction of Olivier Giroud and the Frenchman could’ve scored with his first touch in the 85th-minute but his shot went wide from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s low cross.
Chelsea continued to push for all three points but it came to no avail as Brighton’s White cynically stopped Hudson-Odoi countering in the 92nd-minute which led to a second yellow card and the Englishman’s dismissal.
That was enough for the Seagulls to see out the match as the referee blew the final whistle shortly after the incident.
