After an eventful arrival at the stadium, due to a demonstration against the dissident Super League project he supported, Chelsea could not do better than 0-0 against Brighton on Tuesday for the 32nd day of the Premier League.
This point is still the business of the Blues, who go back to 4th place on goal difference in front of West Ham, with 55 points, while the Seagulls take a 7th point ahead of the red zone.
But Thomas Tuchel's players have sometimes seemed a little distracted by the off-field events of the last few days ...
Chelsea is one of 12 European clubs that have proposed the creation of a 20-club splinter European league, of which 15 places would be reserved annually for 15 founding members.
The London team was able to measure the strength of the opposition of its fans to this project: its bus was blocked on arrival at Stamford Bridge by disgruntled supporters.
Petr Cech, the club's former goalkeeper and technical advisor to owner Roman Abramovich, even had to leave the stadium to try and plead supporters for leniency, so the team's bus could arrive safely.
Welbeck finds the post
Despite a strong possession of the ball, Chelsea hardly threatened his opponent, and even came close to the correctional at the very end of the match, on defensive mistakes unusual since the German coach is on the bench.
But neither Adam Lallana (77th, 80th) whose shots grazed the post then were blocked, nor Danny Welbeck, who found the right amount (79th), failed to materialize.
While the British press takes for granted that the Blues will follow in the footsteps of Manchester City, the first renegade team to fall into line by abandoning the Super League project, it is imperative that the air be purified quickly around the Blues, who have many stakes to defend for the end of the season, in the league, in the FA Cup and in the Champions League, the real one.
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