Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest: Forest hold Blues to a draw
Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest: Forest hold Blues to a draw. It was a frustrating Sunday afternoon for Enzo Maresca and his Chelsea side, as they were held to a draw by a dogged Nottingham Forest side.
Chris Wood‘s scrambled finish had put Nuni Espirito Santo‘s side ahead early in the second half but Noni Madueke brought the hosts level, before James Ward-Prowse was sent off for two bookable offences.
Chelsea tried to make the player advantage count but couldn’t, bringing their run of five straight wins in all competitions to an end.
How the game unfolded;
Much-changed from the Europa League win against Gent on Thursday, Chelsea made a decent start with Noni Madueke often getting the better of Alex Moreno but lacking any substantial end product to complement his sharp dribbling.
Instead Forest, who had lost only one of their six league games prior to kick-off, restricted the Blues’ creativity and gave them little time on the ball, with Cole Palmer on the periphery of events for much of the first half.
A couple of yellow cards were dished out to Moises Caicedo and James Ward-Prowse before the first real piece of goalmouth action. Murillo strode forward and made space for a thunderous shot, but it was central enough for Robert Sanchez to parry it away to safety.
The first 45 minutes were largely drab but did at least pick up before the referee’s half-time whistle. Madueke once again got to the byline and found Palmer, but the ball was nipped off his toes and through the scramble of players to hit the post.
Forest had executed Nuno Espirito Santo’s away day game plan to perfection before starting the second half with a bang.
James Ward-Prowse’s dead-ball delivery was flicked on by Nikola Milenkovic and Wood was in the perfect place to prod beyond Robert Sanchez and put the visitors ahead. Suddenly the gauntlet had been thrown down to Chelsea, who had not lost in the Premier League since an opening-day defeat to Manchester City.
Santo’s side went close again soon after, with Elliot Anderson shooting straight at Sanchez in the box. It looked like they were hunting a second goal, but instead Chelsea found space to equalise before the hour mark.
Madueke had been difficult to contain all game and finally put it all together to drag his team level, collecting Palmer’s pass and finding the far corner after cutting inside.
The match swung firmly in Chelsea’s favour for the final 12 minutes of normal time when Ward-Prowse saw red. The former West Ham United midfielder was caught floundering in possession and had to use his hands to prevent a Chelsea breakaway, resulting in a second booking.
That gave the Blues an advantage but Forest still proved a tough nut to crack, with goalkeeper Matz Sels leaping like a cat to deny Palmer twice in the space of a few seconds.
13 minutes of second-half stoppage time made Chelsea favourites to claim the points late on and substitute Joao Felix came closest first, planting a golden opportunity wide with an inaccurate header.
Two more chances arrived quickly as Neco Williams wriggled into the box and brought Sanchez into action. Mykhailo Mudryk ran straight up the other end and picked out Christopher Nkunku perfectly, but the Frenchman headed too centrally as Sels made the save.
Forest may well have nicked all the points when Jota Silva flicked a header goalwards, but Sanchez sprung across his line to tip in behind for a corner. That set piece came to nothing as Forest preserved their unbeaten record away from home while bringing Chelsea’s run of victories to an end.
