London: Chelsea were dealt a major blow to their Premier League title hopes as Adam Webster’s second-half header earned Brighton and Hove Albion a 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday.Arsenal were in the midst of a selection crisis but only a small number of their absentees were because of positive Covid tests. Conte will surely be frustrated to learn thatĀ ArsenalĀ appear ready to play on Thursday at home to Liverpool in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Conte made the point that Burnley had played only 17 league fixtures whereas others had played significantly more; Chelsea completed their 23rd at Brighton on Tuesday night while Manchester City and West Ham have played 22.
What has annoyed Conte in particular is how the league refused Spursās request to postpone their match at Leicester on 16 December as they contended with a high number of Covid cases that had led to them losing two games ā the Europa Conference League final group phase tie against Rennes and the league match at Brighton. Spurs had already had their game at Burnley snowed off.
But the league were happy to accept Arsenalās move for a postponement on Sunday, mainly because of the clubās injuries and their having players at the Africa Cup of Nations.