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Nottingham Forest 1-1 Chelsea: Match report, player ratings, fan reaction & more

Nottingham Forest and Chelsea played out the final Premier League tie of the weekend a short time ago.

Chelsea headed into the game having finally put an end to their poor run of form earlier this week when they beat Bournemouth 2-0.

That result left Chelsea within eight points off 4th place, a gap that would be reduced to eight with a win over the struggling Forest team.

And when all was said and done at the City Ground,

Chelsea started on the front foot with Denis Zakaria finding Mason Mount with a long ball into the box, which the Englishman fired over from.

Nottingham Forest then probably should have scored nine minutes in when Brenan Johnson was played through on goal but his shot was weak and Kepa timed his run well.

But it was the Blues who broke the deadlock via Raheem Sterling. Christian Pulisic floated in a cross, which Wily Boly kicked onto his own crossbar. The loose ball fell to Sterling who slotted home.

After looking lethargic in their emergence for the 2nd-half of action, though, Chelsea were soon made to pay.

Shortly after Morgan Gibbs-White had rattled the crossbar with a wonderful effort, a whipped corner into the visitors’ penalty area caused chaos, opening the door for former Tottenham defender Serge Aurier to slot home in cool fashion, bringing Forest level:

Graham Potter, from here, opted to change things up, introducing the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a desperate search for a late Chelsea winner.

In truth, though, for lengthy stretches, it was Steve Cooper’s hosts who looked the more likely to steal all three points.

Nevertheless, upon the final whistle sounding at the City Ground, both sides were forced to settle for a share of the spoils, in yet another heavy blow to Chelsea’s dwindling hopes of clinching a top-4 berth.

Player ratings

Nottingham Forest

  • GK: Dean Henderson – 5.5
  • RB: Serge Aurier – 7
  • CB: Joe Worrall – 6
  • CB: Willy Boly – 7.5
  • LB: Renan Lodi – 6
  • CM: Ryan Yates – 5.5
  • CM: Remo Freuler – 6.5
  • CM: Orel Mangala – 5.5
  • RW: Brenan Johnson – 6
  • ST: Taiwo Awoniyi – 6.5
  • LW: Morgan Gibbs-White – 7

Substitutes

Jack Colback – 5.5, Sam Surridge – 5.5

Chelsea

  • GK: Kepa – 6.5
  • RB: Cesar Azpilicueta – 6
  • CB: Kalido Koulibaly – 5
  • CB: Thiago Silva – 7
  • LB: Marc Cucurella – 6.5
  • CM: Jorginho – 5
  • CM: Denis Zakaria – 6
  • CAM: Mason Mount – 5.5
  • RW: Raheem Sterling – 6
  • ST: Kai Havertz – 5
  • LW: Christian Pulisic – 5.5

Substitutes

Mateo Kovacic – 5.5, Conor Gallagher – 5, Hakim Ziyech – 6, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 5

Match reaction

Key stats

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Tags:

Chelsea, Football, Nottingham Forest
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Josh Barker

Middlesbrough fan from the North East of England. @JoshBarker979 on Twitter.
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