On the first day of the New Year, the 21st round matches of the English "Premier" league were played.
The 2020 didn't start very successfully for Frank Lampard's squad, which had to settle for a 1:1 draw after a fantastic strike by an Iranian player from the "Brighton" team.
The match started ideally for the London "Chelsea" team - in the 10th minute, Cesar Azpilicueta put the visitors ahead after being left unmarked from a corner and directing the ball into the "Brighton" goal from close range.
The first half was quite dull for the "Brighton" team - the goalkeeper had to fend off the first shot just before the end. However, the hosts woke up at the end of the first half and carried their energy into the second half of the match.
In the second half, "Chelsea" struggled to find ways to finish the game, while "Brighton" looked for opportunities to punish their opponents.
In the 84th minute, such an opportunity turned into an equalizing goal - Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored from a corner kick. The Iranian player scored his second goal representing the "Brighton" club.
Immediately after the goal, the hosts pressed the "Chelsea" goal once again and could have scored a winning goal, but Kepa saved the "Blues".
The "Chelsea" team, currently in fourth place, after this round could extend their advantage over the closest opponents to up to two points.
Another match that took place at the same time ended with a victory for "Aston Villa" against "Burnley".
Results:
"Brighton" 1 - 1 "Chelsea" 10' [1 - 0] C. Azpilicueta 84' [1 - 1] A. Jahanbakhsh
"Burnley" 1 - 2 "Aston Villa" 27' [0 - 1] Wesley 41' [0 - 2] J. Grealish 80' [1 - 2] Ch. Wood
