Chelsea’s five-match winning run came to an end as the Blues struggled in a 1-1 draw against 10-men Nottingham Forest, with Noni Madueke’s effort cancelling out Chris Wood’s opener.
Enzo Maresca made wholesale changes and named an entirely new starting lineup from the team that defeated Gent 4-2 in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday.
The closest that the Blues came against a staunch visiting defence in the first half was when Nicolas Jackson diverted a Cole Palmer effort from close range, only for Matz Sels to just about keep the ball from going over the line by a matter of inches.
The visitors then shocked Stamford Bridge a few minutes into the second half when Nikola Milenkovic nodded a deep free-kick on and Wood flicked past Robert Sanchez to send the away fans into raptures.
Madueke was a constant threat throughout and caused Alex Moreno numerous problems, but finally broke Chelsea’s deadlock eight minutes later when he cut inside and drilled an effort into the far corner.
James Ward-Prowse was given a second yellow card with 12 minutes remaining that he had no complaints over, immediately walking down the tunnel after stumbling over and deliberately handballing to prevent Nicolas Jackson from breaking away on goal. Chelsea, however, were unable to make their man advantage count.
Here, Express Sport takes a look at how Chelsea’s stars fared against Forest…
Goalkeeper
Robert Sanchez – 8
A very strong performance between the posts despite failing to keep a clean sheet. There was little he could do to prevent Wood’s goal and made a string of stunning saves in stoppage time to keep Chelsea in the match, denying Neco Williams and Jota Silva in the dying embers of the match.
Defence
Malo Gusto – 5
The right-back played a largely inverted role but was unable to make the desired impact, with the middle of the pitch made extremely congested. Malo Gusto likely would have had more joy if asked to overlap Madueke and pose further issues for left-back Moreno.
He was unable to track Milenkovic for Wood’s goal and kept the Forest attack onside when James Ward-Prowse’s free-kick was launched into the area.
Wesley Fofana – 6
Strong in the tackle on numerous occasions, Wesley Fofana has quickly established himself as a first-choice option despite competition from Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile. Largely dealt with Forest’s threat well. A late yellow, however, ensured that he will miss Chelsea’s trip to Liverpool after the international break.
Levi Colwill – 7
Levi Colwill looked assured when dealing with the aerial threat of Wood aside from the goal, while calm and composed playing out of the back.
He made a goal-saving challenge on the stroke of half-time when Forest broke forward and Wood left the ball to an arriving Yates with the goal at his mercy, only for Colwill to launch himself in front of the shot.
The next minute the same midfielder found himself in front of the goal, but for Colwill to get himself between Yates and the ball to prevent Forest from putting multiple efforts past Sanchez.
Marc Cucurella – 6
A quiet afternoon for Marc Cucurella until he was at the centre of a late melee, having been pushed into Maresca by Neco Williams. A huge brawl erupted between both sets of players before being shown a yellow card that ensures he is suspended for Chelsea’s next league match at Anfield.
Midfield
Moises Caicedo – 5
A bit of a struggle keeping close to Morgan Gibbs-White in the middle of the pitch. Was booked for dissent after 20 minutes and had to walk a tight line for the remainder of the match, keeping the Ecuadorian from being his combative self.
Enzo Fernandez – 5
Didn’t do enough to undo the Forest defence and neither was the Argentine prepared to help Moises Caicedo when the visitors were on the counter. There was little surprise when Enzo Fernandez was chosen to be replaced by Joao Felix with the hosts chasing a winning goal.
Cole Palmer – 7
Faced a tougher task than Brighton last week when he put four past the Seagulls and was well-marshalled by Ryan Yates and Ward-Prowse throughout.
Had an improved second half, however, and grabbed another assist after Madueke picked up his pass to beat a man and strike past Sels. Palmer now has more Premier League assists than any other player in 2024, with 12.
Had two chances to
Attack
Noni Madueke – 8
Under pressure from a Pedro Neto who is full of confidence at the moment, Noni Madueke responded with a very strong performance. Moreno will be glad to see the back of the England international, who equalised at the fourth time of asking after collecting Palmer’s pass and driving an effort into the far corner after cutting inside.
Nicolas Jackson – 5
Only Liverpool had conceded fewer Premier League goals this season coming into the match than Forest, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s formidable defence frustrating yet another striker in Jackson.
He struggled to have any real impact on the match and will be looking over his shoulder at Christopher Nkunku waiting in the wings, with the Frenchman brought on for the final 10 minutes of the match.
Jadon Sancho – 8
Sancho’s brightest moments in a Manchester United shirt came while playing on the left and he was a constant threat down that flank once again, causing ex-Chelsea defender Ola Aina plenty of problems.
And he proved a formidable opponent going the opposite direction, helping out Cucurella on numerous occasions to dispossess Callum Hudson-Odoi on the winger’s first visit to Stamford Bridge as an opposition player. He won the ball back three times in the opening 15 minutes, a stark contrast to the forlorn figure he cut as a Red Devil.
