Things are far from perfect at Chelsea at the moment.
The Blues' draw with Brighton on Tuesday night means that they are still without a Premier League win since Boxing Day, and have recorded five draws in their last seven matches in the division.
Thomas Tuchel's side didn't deserve anything more against the Seagulls and far large stretches of the match, Chelsea once again struggled to find attacking fluency as Brighton defended well with numbers.
While Graham Potter's team provided a staunch defence, the Blues' lack of potency was as much at fault. Romelu Lukaku only emerged with 18 touches from his 80 minutes on the pitch.
It was perhaps no surprise that Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech were in deep discussion as the sides left the pitch at half-time.
The Belgian's frustration had been clear in the opening period with his exasperation evident when one pass from the Moroccan was played into his feet rather than the path he was running into.
Lukaku looked to be making this point as the duo headed down the tunnel, with the discussion proving animated and Ziyech visibly covering his mouth during the conversation.
Tuchel was relaxed about the situation following the match.
He told BT Sport: "It's normal that they (Ziyech & Lukaku) talk, it's normal that they're not happy. In the reaction of the goal, you can see that we are tired. We are relieved but there is no joy."
There was little to be content about and Ziyech's goal was a sign of it. His impressive strike caught Robert Sanchez off guard, with Chelsea's away supporters the only group to seemingly feel any kind of relief or release.
While Chelsea's XI grouped together in celebration, there appeared to be more discussion about positioning and attacking throughout the huddle. Ziyech was clearly in conversation with Mason Mount while Marcos Alonso and Callum Hudson-Odoi were still working things out.
Alan Shearer believed it was a sign of underlying problems.
He said: “Lack of celebration, lack of reaction. Heads down. I don’t need any more evidence there’s an issue in that dressing room."
However, perhaps it is more of a sign of the problems on the pitch.
Of course, it would be preferred if the Blues built momentum from Ziyech's strike and positivity was in abundance, but given Chelsea's tepid performance, it would be more concerning if these conversations were not happening at all.
The west London side are still trying to find effective attacking transitions following the injuries to Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
"We could have had many more chances if we played with better timing and precision," said Tuchel following the defeat to Manchester City.
The same was true here, despite the Blues being afforded a great deal more possession.
The German coach put the lack of joy in celebration down to tiredness.
Tuchel told reporters in his post-match press conference: "We do this since November, so we arrive in a game where we don't reach our full potential. Welcome to reality. We can't be surprised and we want to do more and do it better, but in the end we have to accept it. We take a draw and we go.
"We tried everything, tried hard, but there is a certain level of fatigue we can feel."
Chelsea come off a stretch of three away games within seven days with Tuchel set to provide his squad with two days off before preparations for Tottenham to get underway.
That leaves the Blues with an international break and a match against Plymouth Argyle before they head off to the United Arab Emirates for the Club World Cup.
Having played in 15 matches since the start of December, the change in tempo will be welcome, and the conversations happening on the pitch will be able to translate to the training ground.
Tuchel is correct that Ziyech and Lukaku should be having conversations like the one on the way off the pitch. However, the Chelsea duo now need to prove Tuchel right that it was a good thing - and it needs to lead to an improving side rather than a petulant one.
