"Because we are tired. We are mentally tired and physically tired. You can see it in our performance. It's as easy as that."
Thomas Tuchel, who was his usually insightful and calming presence a day before the draw at the Amex looked completely drained on Tuesday night after seeing his team drop league points for the fourth time in a row.
A day before he spent time detailing what had gone wrong against Manchester City but quickly shifted the narrative into looking forward and doing what his Chelsea team have done well under him, responding quickly.
Following Chelsea's first defeat under the German in April 2021 to West Brom in a staggering 5-2 home embarrassment, the Blues got back on track in the Champions League by defeating Porto 2-0 in a controlling performance that came to epitomise the incredible run to the trophy a month later.
After successive defeats back in September this season to Manchester City and Juventus, Chelsea responded by winning their next seven in all competitions.
Sadly the drab performance against Brighton, resulting in a second consecutive 1-1 draw against the Seagulls in under a month, did little to spark Chelsea back into life when they desperately need to rediscover some semblance of rhythm in the Premier League.
When probed about the drop in form on Monday over recent months leaving Chelsea 12 points off Manchester City, Tuchel took time to pinpoint why major injuries had to be taken into consideration.
"It is a bit boring because it is the same answer all the time, but key players are key players because they have key behaviour and key things in clubs and dressing rooms. That is why you need them and that’s what brings you through a season and City is obviously overperforming on the very maximum."
Tuchel also name-dropped three players that were helping get the best out of Mason Mount, who was surprisingly omitted from his starting lineup against Manchester City last Saturday. "Reece, N’Golo and him were so strong together," Tuchel explained.
"This is what we've been talking about [relationships on the pitch]: when you turn, you know without even looking he will come now or I will go and get the pass and he will come in, so I will be here.
"We are missing this. And I think, without asking him now, Mason is missing this. He has this genuine understanding with Reece and with Chilly (Ben Chilwell) on the other side."
The difficulty for Tuchel at the current time is missing soo many of his most influential figures, or ones who were performing at a very high level before Christmas.
Chilwell and James going down with longer-term injuries have felt most crippling to the progression of a system that was beginning to flourish. Tuchel knows for the rest of this season he can only get back 50% of that with James.
Some performances were exceptional around October and November, fully unleashing their creativity and end product from their wingback spots to cause opposition hell.
But Tuchel did receive criticism for not starting Mason Mount, not only Chelsea's top Premier League scorer so far this season but also one who was influential in the two victories over Pep Guardiola last term. Though the English midfielder's uncharacteristically flat showing on the South Coast did little to justify that initial criticism.
It felt similar to one of Tuchel's other rare selection errors when he chose to start Marcos Alonso over Chilwell in last season's FA Cup final. Alonso was hooked in the second half and Chilwell had a goal chalked off by the finest of margins.
For as much as things remain uncertain about areas of this current squad, certain lessons remain since Tuchel arrived almost a year ago.
Mason Mount is still one of the undroppable figures, a player who even on his less influential days provides a tactical intelligence and level of energy Tuchel requires, also quality delivery from set pieces.
James and Kante are obvious names to throw in alongside Mount, also including the immense influence of Antonio Rudiger, immaculate Thiago Silva, metronomic Jorginho and much improved Mateo Kovacic. Edouard Mendy quite clearly too will retake his starting spot when he returns from AFCON.
Those 'key players' Tuchel speaks about will very likely provide the foundation for the team he puts out until May and that misstep over Mount may have reminded Tuchel who he can and cannot trust in the current squad.
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