- Nottingham Forest secured a hard-earned point in dramatic draw with Chelsea
- Noni Madueke equalised after Chris Wood had fired the visitors into the lead
- SOCCER A-Z: Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, or watch on YouTube. New episodes every Wednesday
Enzo Maresca encouraged his Chelsea players to carry on scrapping after another game in which his team racked up enough yellows to ensure the Football Association’s coffers will be boosted.
The Blues will be fined £50,000 for picking up at least six cautions against the 10 men of Nottingham Forest, double the £25,000 they paid as punishment for the same offence last month at Bournemouth because they are deemed reoffenders.
While a 1-1 scoreline may seem ordinary, this fixture was as frenzied as they come, a contest never more chaotic than when a mass melee was instigated by Neco Williams.
It was in the 88th minute when Williams shoved Marc Cucurella into Enzo Maresca, forcing Chelsea’s head coach to tumble over. Naturally, it provoked a reaction from the hosts, with Levi Colwill rushing to remonstrate with Williams as all hell broke loose at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson could not help himself, the already-substituted striker seemingly slapping Morato in the face amid the aggro. VAR Jarred Gillett decided that altercation did not constitute violent conduct, but it could be further investigated by the FA.
Chelsea were held to a point against 10-man Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Sunday
The visitors drew first blood as Chris Wood poked home from a James Ward-Prowse set piece
But Noni Madueke was on hand to put the Blues back on level terms just minutes later
Noni Madueke was involved in the melee also and, worryingly, his England call-up is now in jeopardy as he had to be carried away by two members of Chelsea’s staff after hurting himself.
It summed up the madness of a match in which James Ward-Prowse was dismissed for two yellows, one for pulling back Cole Palmer and another in which he bizarrely grabbed hold of the ball to stop Jackson from charging through on goal. Ward-Prowse will be joined on the Premier League’s suspended list by Wesley Fofana and Cucurella, each becoming the first players this season to pick up five cards. They will now miss the trip to Liverpool in two weeks’ time.
It was only last season when Chelsea broke the Premier League record for yellows received, being shown 105 in total. Seven games into this current campaign, they are already on 27. Yet Maresca sees no issue with the way his players are conducting themselves.
‘I am not going to pay it!’ Maresca joked of the £50,000 fine. ‘It’s something we need to improve but overall, I like the team the way they are fighting. I like the way they are becoming a team in these kinds of things. I don’t see any problems about that.’
On whether Jackson was silly to get involved, Maresca added: ‘I like the spirit of the team. I don’t see any problem. If you ask me about the team spirit, the way they are fighting together, the way they are doing things together, I’m very happy.’
This game would not have finished 1-1 were it not for the goalkeepers, Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez and Forest’s Matz Sels each taking turns to produce sensational saves as if conducting their own personal competition.
Forest’s fans celebrated at full-time, knowing how hard their players worked for this point. ‘The second half was crazy,’ Nuno Espirito Santo said. ‘Goalkeepers making huge saves and with one man less, mass confusion, red cards, yellow cards, everything was there.’
Cole Palmer came close to opening the scoring but overall struggled to influence the game
Wood's strike just after the interval sent the travelling fans behind the goal into pandemonium
The 32-year-old has now netted three times in six Premier League appearances this season
After securing an equaliser, Chelsea looked to maintain their momentum and pressed forward
Chelsea came into this searching for a sixth consecutive win in all competitions, but Forest were not here to gift their hosts anywhere near as much space as Brighton, who often left their own half unmanned which helped Palmer towards his four-goal haul.
The closest Chelsea came inside the opening 10 minutes was when Madueke drove directly at Alex Moreno from the right-hand side, beating his man before dragging wide.
The same happened again in the 24th minute, Madueke this time sending a vicious curler beyond the top-left corner.
Though Forest were set up in a defensive shape, they created their own chances, Murillo orchestrating one all by himself when he intercepted Enzo Fernandez’s forward pass.
The Brazilian drove for the opposition box, unleashing a 25-yard rocket that was too hot for Sanchez to handle as Chelsea’s goalkeeper pushed it wide.
There were supporters celebrating inside of Stamford Bridge before the break as they thought Chelsea had taken the lead, only for referee Chris Kavanagh to theatrically show the crowd that his watch had not buzzed.
The move started with Murillo losing the ball to Madueke, who sprinted into the box before cutting the ball back.
Palmer’s poke was helped on its way by Jackson but it rolled into the post before Sels somehow squirmed it away from the goal-line.
The visitors took the lead in the 49th minute after a set-piece routine, Jackson conceding a free-kick by the halfway line which Ward-Prowse sent into the box. The ball was headed on by Nikola Milenkovic and toed in by Chris Wood for 1-0.
Chelsea set aside their frustration to earn an equaliser in the 57th minute. Adding another assist to his statistics, Palmer played a pass wide to Madueke, whose left-footed bender went through Murillo and Ryan Yates and beyond Sels for 1-1.
Ward-Prowse's sending off sent the game into a frenzy with both sides having chances
Forest goalkeeper Mats Sels produced several stoppage-time saves to keep the score level
Jota Silva came close with a header deep in stoppage time but Robert Sanchez somehow managed to tip it round the post
Palmer thought he had grabbed an 87th-minute winner, only for Sels to produce a sensational double save. There was no time for replays as the mass melee unfolded thereafter when Williams pushed Cucurella into Maresca.
Chelsea and Forest had their chances to score amid 13 minutes of stoppage time. Joao Felix could have won it. Williams could have won it. Christopher Nkunku should have won it with a free header which was denied by Sels, while Sanchez got a hand to Jota Silva’s attempt as the clock read 103 minutes. In the end, there were not many goals, but an abundance of aggression.
