BRIGHTON, United Kingdom: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel claims the decline in his squad’s 1-1 draw in Brighton was due to fatigue.

The European champions have won just once in their last seven Premier League games, destroying hopes of winning the title and having to be careful if they want to stay in third place or in the top four.

For the second meeting with The Seagulls in 20 days, Chelsea squandered the advantage after Judge Ziyech put them ahead but Adam Webster returned the equalizer for Brighton.

“You can see we’re mentally and physically exhausted. We realize they’re pretty prepared, they have more time and less games to face this action,” Tuchel said after his squad’s 15th game since the start of December.

Chelsea will host Tottenham this Sunday for their final league match before the international break and their commitment to the Club World Cup in February.

Tuchel hopes he can give his men a break to get back stronger by the final months of the season.