Chelsea coach comments on Moroccan star Ziyech's failure to celebrate his goal

Moroccan star Hakim Ziyech refused to celebrate after scoring the lead for Chelsea in the 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League, and spent long periods of the first half in a heated debate with fellow striker Romelu Lukaku yesterday.

But Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said he was not interested in Ziyech's reaction, which comes as a response to the German coach's criticism of his offensive line.

"I'm happy," Tuchel said. "He can score 20 more goals and not celebrate and I have no problem. It's normal for them to talk, and they are not happy and they don't like it when we say we are waiting for more from them."

Ziyech scored the goal with a low shot that gave Chelsea the lead after 28 minutes, but he struggled against Brighton, who deserved to equalize after an hour of playing with a powerful header from Adam Webster after a corner kick.

Chelsea remained third in the league without a win for the fourth consecutive game in the league, 12 points behind leaders Manchester City, who have one more game.

Tuchel admitted that Chelsea suffered greatly from physical and mental fatigue due to the tight match schedule, having played 15 matches since the beginning of last December.

"We've been playing a lot since November, we need to recharge the batteries and rest, that's how I feel," Tuchel said.

"In the reaction to the goal, we can see our fatigue. We are happy to score but there was no joy. We will use Friday and Saturday to prepare for the Tottenham game on Sunday."

In response to a question about the tense relationship between Tuchel and striker Romelu Lukaku, the German coach said, "There are too many questions about Romelu, and there are too many answers about Romelu."

Brighton, in ninth place, continued his strong performances with coach Graham Potter, and it would not have been a surprise if he came out with a victory.

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