Chelsea draw with the penultimate Premier League team
Holding the ball 72% of the time, but Chelsea hardly created any clear chances towards Nottingham Forest. The opening goal of the blue shirt team came from a lucky situation, but it was not enough to help teachers and students Graham Potter leave with three points. Nottingham Forest played hard in the second half to equalize, thereby improving one place on the scoreboard. Chelsea ranked eighth with 25 points, below even Fulham - the team in the same city.
Raheem Sterling's goal in the 16th minute was a rare remarkable situation in the first half. From Christian Pulisic's cross, centre-back Willy Boly broke the backspin and hit the crossbar before finding Sterling's position. The England international easily scored when there was only one Nottingham Forest defender left in front of him.
The remaining dangerous opportunity in the first half belongs to the home team. Brennan Johnson came down to face Kepa, but the Welshman's shot missed the ball, after he had to speed a long distance.
Before the match against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest had never won a point when leading this season. But in the matchup in the 18th round, they did it well. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, the host continuously threatened Chelsea's goal with dangerous shots, even hitting the crossbar. The final result came in the 63rd minute. Willy Boly corrected the mistake with a good challenge in the air, creating for Serge Aurier to control the ball and then finishing through the legs of goalkeeper Kepa.
After the equalizer, Nottingham Forest continued to play excitedly and were the team closer to victory. On the other side of the line, Chelsea did not hit the goal once in the second half. The visitors reacted slowly and weakly after the equalizer, to the point where Coach Potter said after the game that his side didn't deserve more than a point.
Blunt attack is the main reason why Chelsea have won only one of the last seven matches in the Premier League. In the last four matches away from home, Potter's teachers and students did not win a single match. 25 points from 16 games is Chelsea's worst performance in six years. The gap between them and the top 4 is now seven points. Nottingham Forest rose to 18th, one and two points above the bottom two teams Wolves and Southampton, respectively.
In the next round, Nottingham Forest played the "reverse final" against Southampton, while Chelsea took on Man City at Stamford Bridge.
