Chelsea’s mid-game brawl with the Nottingham Forest players on Sunday afternoon showed an edge to Enzo Maresca’s side that previous Blues bosses haven’t been able to harness.
Maresca’s men slumped to another disappointing result in west London, with Chelsea having now won just one of their four Premier League home games this term.
Chris Wood opened the scoring for the visitors, before Noni Madueke continued his impressive scoring form – assisted by Cole Palmer of course – to level things up with just over half an hour to play.
Despite having plenty of time to find a winner, including a whopping 13 minutes added at the end of the 90, Chelsea were kept at bay by Nuno Espírito Santo’s resilient Forest.
However, tempers did flare late on in the afternoon when substitute Neco Williams barged into Marc Cucurella, sending the Chelsea defender flying into the dugout while sparking a mass brawl between both the players and the two coaching teams.
Apart from talisman Palmer, who rather amusingly opted to watch on from afar, every Chelsea player rushed to the defence of their team-mate and were happy to grapple with the Forest players.
While the result might’ve been a letdown for Maresca, the show of defiance from his players is a sign that he has the Chelsea dressing room pulling in the right direction.
Commenting on his squad’s cohesion, the Italian told Chelsea’s official website: “Probably there are things we can improve but overall I like the team and the way they are fighting. I like the team, the way they are becoming a team in these kinds of things and I don’t see any problems with that.
“If you ask me about the team spirit, the way they are fighting together and the way they are doing things together, I am very happy with that.”
It’s in sharp contrast to how things appeared from the outside last season when the capital club were criticised for lacking a sense of togetherness.
This was encapsulated during the bust-up that saw Palmer, Madueke and Nicolas Jackson bicker over who was taking a penalty kick during April’s 6-0 mauling against Everton.
It has come at a cost for Chelsea though, with Cucurella shown a yellow card for his role in the Forest scrap, meaning he’ll have to sit out of the first match after the October international break, which comes away to Liverpool.
Cucurella won’t be alone on the touchline though, given Wesley Fofana also picked up a yellow card meaning he too will be absent for the Anfield encounter.
