Chelsea ended 2021 with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday evening after former Manchester United and former Arsenal striker Daniel Welbeck scored a late equalizer for Brighton at the Stamford Bridge.

The draw represents a good advantage for Manchester City, who increased their lead at the top of the table after Liverpool’s 1-0 loss to Leicester City on Tuesday night as well.

Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku looked to have earned Chelsea the win after he scored his second goal in his second game since returning from a recent injury.

Lukaku headed Chelsea into the lead in the 28th; Brighton dominated the proceedings from they until they were rewarded with Welbeck’s header in the 90th minute for the equalizer and a snatch and grab one point.

The result means that Chelsea have only won three of their last seven matches, with the other four ending in draws. The results also mean that they are now eight points behind Manchester City, who are now sitting comfortably at the top of the table after their 1-0 victory against Brentford on Wednesday evening.

Manchester City took full advantage of the slips of the Reds and Blues with a comfortable 1-0 win against Brentford.

Liverpool lost to Leicester City on Wednesday evening courtesy of an Ademola Lookman second-half strike on the hour mark as Jurgen Klopp’s team finished 2021 in third with 9 points away from the table toppers.

Meanwhile, Phil Foden’s 16th-minute strike was enough to see Pep Guardiola’s team take all three points, although a second goal was ruled offside in the 87th minute by the VAR.

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Ralph Rangnick has stated that the Covid disruption has delayed the progress of his work with his team ahead of their Thursday clash with Burnley. He said with the Covid problem, and he has not reached expected targets.

“Every coach, every ambitious coach – and there’s no difference between other coaches and myself in that area – wants to take faster steps and larger steps forward. But in order to do that, you need to be able to train.” he said.

Written by:  Daniel Ademiju Idowu