Premier League: Chelsea 1 Nottingham Forest 1
There was a sending off, a mass bout of fisticuffs, a late unmissable header and two chances for goal machine Cole Palmer. But not even Chelsea on a five-match winning streak could break Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten record on their travels this season.
Two brilliant saves at either end in the 13 minutes of injury time probably rightly ensured this high-octane Premier League encounter ended with spoils but even then Robert Sanchez was stretched to full limit to keep out substitute Jota Silva’s downward header as the clock ticked over into the 104th minute.
The late drama was sparked by the sending off of James Ward-Prowse. If the England international did have the legs for a footrace with Nicolas Jackson from the halfway line in the 78th minute, they quickly disappeared from under him and he grabbed the ball to stop the Chelsea striker from sprinting away in entirely calculated fashion. He was almost down the tunnel before the second yellow card was shown.
It was a surprise more did not join them moments later when Neco Williams clipped the heels of Marc Cucurella to send him flying into Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca in the technical area. Around 15 players and staff bumped up against each other in angry remonstration, and while there were only two yellow cards for the initial protagonists, FA charges will almost certainly follow in the morning given the size of the provocation.
Before that, it had been a proper 11 v 11 encounter in every sense of the word as the bearers of those numbers for the respective teams who did most to add a flourish of fascination.
Chelsea’s no. 11 Noni Madueke spent the whole of the first half on a personal mission to find the back of the net following Palmer’s four-goal haul in the previous Premier League outing. He had dragged a shot inside the near post within 10 minutes and firing a couple of inches over the bar on two occasions.
Left-back Alex Moreno was evidently a target, and when he seemed to trip Palmer with an outflung boot as he lay in untidy heap on the grass, it was relief he looked up to see the assistant had already raised his flag for an offside earlier in the move.
This season Forest have been masters of the away heist – just ask Southampton and Liverpool – and Murillo served notice of their danger when he read a clearance to Palmer, stepped in on the halfway line, strode forward and unleashed a 25 yard shot which Robert Sanchez watchfully beat away with his palms.
But even when they did not realise, Forest were treading the edge of a precipice. Knocking the ball across the back before half-time, it was just a momentary lapse by Murillo but Madueke was there to snap the ball away from him, race to the line and cut his cross back dangerously.
Ola Aina’s timely challenge took the sting out of Palmer’s 10 yard shot but it clipped the heels of Nicolas Jackson and still hit the post, rolling along the goal line. Matz Sels, falling backwards flung out an arm to stop the ball with only half of its cross-section inside the goal, and unceremoniously sat on it.
And there was still time for Ryan Yates to stand unmarked 15 yards from the Chelsea goal and unleash a shot which would have burst the back of the net if Levi Colwill’s rather more resilient thigh not been thrust impenetrably in the way.
So while it seemed inevitable that a goal would come soon, there was still some doubt which way it would go. Four minutes into the second period, we had our answer.
Nikola Milenkovic flicked on James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick from the edge of the centre-circle and Chris Wood’s toe poked the ball into the corner like the good old-fashioned centre-forward that he delights in being.
Madueke could not be more different and for all his quicksilver footwork in the first-half, perhaps he was trying to hard with his shooting. In the 58th minute, though, he showed the nonchalance of a Turkish Olympian to spot his target, pull the trigger and drill the ball straight into the penny-sized target just inside the far post.
Then two minutes later, Madueke sidefooted a much easier chance over the bar.
Jackson burst free to spark another period of mesmerising pinball in the Forest area – again with nobody able to angle it right to claim the prize; if Ward-Prowse had let him go free a second time Chelsea might be looking at a sixth successive win and Forest’s run might have limply come to an end.
But then it wouldn’t be Premier League football. – Guardian
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