Premier League: Forest hold Chelsea
Chelsea 1 - 1 Nottingham Forest
Chris Wood and Noni Madueke scored as Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played out a tactical and feisty draw at Stamford Bridge.
Forest took the lead when 32-year-old striker Wood scored past Robert Sanchez in the 49th minute, following a well-executed set-piece involving James Ward-Prowse and Nikola Milenkovic.
Forest were in dreamland but it didn't last. Chelsea responded quickly. Madueke equalised eight minutes later after cutting in on his left foot and shooting, having had the beating of left-back Alex Moreno.
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Injuries and suspensions to follow
Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White was forced to leave the pitch with an injury in the second half, casting serious doubt over his chances of playing for England this month. He limped off slowly, clearly in pain and visibly frustrated.
Referee Chris Kavanagh showed Forest’s James Ward-Prowse a second yellow card, sending him off for deliberately handling the ball to halt a counter-attack by Nicolas Jackson. Ward-Prowse had already been booked earlier in the game for a tactical foul on Chelsea’s standout performer, Cole Palmer.
Later in the match, Noni Madueke also appeared to pick up an injury following a heated altercation sparked by Neco Williams, who shoved Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella into their manager, Enzo Maresca.
This sparked more carnage. However, that was to be the last of the drama and it finished 1-1.
Exploring the best Chelsea reaction.
Stewart was at the match, he spoke positively about many aspects of Chelsea's performance. He said: "I think we would've lost that game last season. We're showing more fight and unity now, but we still need to figure out how to break down teams that come and sit deep against us. I’m still concerned about Fernández, though. You can see he’s got loads of potential, but he struggles to deliver consistently."
This was a view shared by Peter, who said: "Some may complain that Chelsea still struggles to break down teams that defend with a lot of players behind the ball. However, it's worth noting that Nottingham Forest recently defeated now top-of-the-league Liverpool. Just a year or so ago, we would likely have lost this match. This shows progress."
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Forest fans are delighted as they show more signs of improvement.
Aimee, a Forest Season Ticket holder, said: "We don’t look like pushovers anymore. Nuno’s doing a fantastic job, building a solid defence that Cloughie would be proud of. They’ve managed to hold their own with 10 men twice this season, and they’re looking right at home in the Premier League. Today was a proud moment for Forest."
Kris had similar thoughts. He added: "It was nerve-wracking at the end, but we kept going and could’ve nicked it with chances from Williams and Jota. Even going down to 10 men and losing Gibbs-White didn’t throw us off too much. Chelsea piled on the pressure once they had the extra man, but Sanchez saved the day for them in the end. You Reds!"
