Chelsea held to draw by Brighton, move to 4th despite stalemate
- Chelsea vs Brighton finished in a scoreless draw in west London
- The point at home was able to lift the Blues to fourth on the EPL standings
- They will lock horns with West Ham who dropped to fifth in their next fixture as the top-four race hots up
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Chelsea vs Brighton Premier League encounter saw both sides fail to find the back of the net on the night of Tuesday, April 20, at Stamford Bridge.
Source: UGC
The Blues came into the match off an encouraging 1-0 win over Man City in the FA Cup on Saturday, April 17, a result that saw them book a place in the finals of the competition in Wembley.
Thomas Tuchel made five changes from the team that secured the win over City, with Kepa Arrizabalaga keeping his place between the sticks.
Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva were both dropped to the bench as they made way for Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma in defence.
However, they were unable to build on the momentum when they hosted the Seagulls in west London, with Thomas Tuchel's wards firing blanks.
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Brighton proved a hard nut to crack for the hosts who found it difficult to penetrate through the visitors' resolute defence.
The home side went in behind for the first time at the half-hour mark, with James reaching for the byline down the right but failed to pick out anyone in the middle.
Hakim Ziyech went close minutes into the second half when he nipped past Webster into the box but he was unable to make anything more of it.
Brighton were reduced to 10 men in the closing stages of the tie after Ben White was handed marching orders for a second yellow following a foul on Callum Hudson-Odoi.
However, they still did enough to see out the rest of the match which finished in a scoreless draw.
The point was enough to send Chelsea to fourth, leapfrogging West Ham on goal difference.
The two London sides will lock horns in their respective fixtures this coming weekend as the battle for the top-four hots up.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Zinedine Zidane has confirmed Eden is inching closer to making his return from injury, with the winger desperate to be fit enough ahead of a possible reunion with Chelsea in the Champions League.
Hazard sealed a stunning dream move to Real in the summer of 2019 but has failed to live up to his billing after a string of injuries that have hampered his progress.
The Belgian's first season with the Los Blancos was marked with an ankle injury which required surgery a little over a year ago.
Source: Legit.ng
Akan Anwankwo Akan Anwankwo is a sports editor, a graduate of English Language and Literature Studies at the University of Lagos. He's passionate about what he does and finds fulfillment in informing readers.
Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com
