Head coach Thomas Tuchel has blamed tiredness for his Chelsea side's below-par performance during the 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Hakim Ziyech gave the Blues a half-time lead with a long-range effort, but Brighton deservedly earned a share of the spoils courtesy of Adam Webster's header after the break.
After a third away fixture within the space of a week, Tuchel was happy to defend his players, who he says will now get some time off ahead of Sunday's meeting with Tottenham Hotspur.
Speaking to BT Sport, Tuchel said: "We looked tired and we are. It's like this. We knew they were well prepared, had more time to prepare and you saw at the end that the stadium celebrated like it was a victory. That is what you face. We tried everything but you could see we were mentally and physically tired. We need some days off. The boys need some days off there is no other solution.
"I did not see many teams control Brighton over 90 minutes. They play brave and bring people to your box to create chances. Of course if you can take a half-chance for a second goal you can go out and win and this is what we normally would be up to. At the moment it is difficult to be too harsh on our players as I know what is going on.
"I am happy. He can score 20 more and not celebrate I have no problem. It is normal that they talk, are not happy and don't like it if we say we want more from them. Even in the reaction for the goal you can see they are tired. It is relief. That is my feeling of the team just now."
While Chelsea sit 12 points adrift of leaders Manchester City, the West Londoners are only nine points above fifth-placed Arsenal, who have three games in hand.
Darren Plant
