6 October 2024
Chelsea 1 Nott’m Forest 1
Chelsea welcomed Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge with their sights firmly set on challenging for the top four this season. It had been a while since The Blues’ fans had seen their side that far up the table and it was taking some getting used to. Their chances of securing Champions League football may rest on the slender shoulders of Cole Palmer.
The Chelsea playmaker is officially the strongest man in Britain, or he should be. After all, he has been carrying most of West London for the last year and a half. He is living proof that if you sign around 40 players, even if you know nothing about football, statistically one of them will be a good signing. That is the Todd Boehly business model in a nutshell for you.
Maresca’s side started well and Madueke cut inside from the right onto his favoured left foot. As the visitors’ defence backed off him, he let rip from outside the box and his effort narrowly went over the crossbar. Forest could not afford to give the hosts such time and space on the ball if they were planning on coming away from the capital with anything other than a ULEZ fine.
Palmer received the ball on the halfway line and made a beeline for the visitors’ goal. Ward-Prowse realised the danger he poses and hauled him to the ground and took a yellow card for his team. It seemed worthwhile to protect their clean sheet for the former West Ham man. The tactics are simple when you come to West London…….mark Cole Palmer!
Murillo slid in to cut out a Fernandez pass and decided to have a go himself. His shot had some real power behind it but was straight at Sanchez in the Chelsea goal. Obviously The Blues’ keeper had to try and entertain in dealing with it, so opted to punch it away like he had lost all of his fingers in an industrial accident before the game.
Chelsea huffed and puffed in the final third but hadn’t asked much of Sels in the Forest goal. Madueke almost created the opening goal as he strode towards the byline before cutting it back to Palmer. His shot was half blocked but then went through the legs of the defender and keeper before clipping the inside of the post. Fortunately for the visitors, it was then saved on the goal line.
The sides went in at the break level but both sides would be ruing not taking the half-chances that had presented themselves. Forest came out after the break and looked to take the game to Chelsea. A Ward-Prowse free kick on the halfway line was headed down by Milenkovic and steered into the back of the net by Wood. Stamford Bridge fell silent apart from the away end.
At this point Frank Lampard was sat somewhere in the UK, can of lager in hand, pointing at the TV screen screaming ‘look! I taught them to defend like that!’ Try as they might to turn things around in West London, their defence has the ability to implode at any given moment. It’s like walking around with a hand grenade in your pocket and seeing the pin on the table in front of you.
Fortunately for Maresca Forest’s lead lasted about as long as one of their PSR hearings. Palmer played the ball to Madueke out wide, who cut inside onto his left foot and drilled the ball into the far corner. The crowd erupted as the winger ran off celebrating, hoping they could get the much-needed win to keep the pressure on the sides at the top.
The visitors continued to try and press the hosts as the ball broke to Gibbs-White on the edge of the box. He looked to get a shot away as a sliding challenge came in and seemed to be the worse for wear as a result. The Forest playmaker immediately waved at the bench that something was wrong. After some treatment the travelling fans were relieved to see that he could at least walk off the pitch.
Things went from bad to worse for Forest as Ward-Prowse missed the ball completely as he looked to put his foot on it a la Gerrard. The only difference being that the midfielder then grabbed the ball to prevent it leading to a goal. Having been booked in the first half, it was an easy decision for the referee to give him his marching orders.
With the man advantage the hosts tried to go for the win. Palmer capitalised on a defensive error but his attempt at goal was saved by Sels who got straight back to his feet to block the follow up also. Not the usual ice-cold finishing we have come to expect from the playmaker. He seemed angrier with himself than anyone else in the ground could be.
In the dying moments of the game, Williams had a brilliant chance to win it for the visitors but his angled shot into the far corner was brilliantly saved by Sanchez. Chelsea went straight down the other end on the counter and Nkunku’s header from three yards out was clawed away by Sels. From the resulting corner Gusto let fly at goal but the Forest keeper tipped it over the crossbar.
The sides were to share the points but given the sending off, the visitors will very much see this as a point gained. To be fair either side could have won it in the closing stages but both keepers were to thank for the draw. Forest fans will be more concerned about the fitness of Gibbs-White as this team look a completely different proposition when he is in the team.
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