Forest Serge back to hold lacklustre Chelsea
Forest looked to absorb Chelsea’s pressure and hit them on the counter-attack, as Morgan Gibbs-White threaded a pass towards Brennan Johnson, who saw both his efforts saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga. Johnson then turned provider for Gibbs-White, whose strike was blocked by César Azpilicueta. However, it was Graham Potter’s side that broke the deadlock in fortuitous fashion, as Willy Boly inadvertently diverted Christian Pulisic’s cross onto the crossbar with his attempted back-heeled clearance, and Raheem Sterling fired in the rebound for his 50th Premier League away goal. It moved Sterling up to 113 Premier League goals - level with Ian Wright as the joint-22nd highest goalscorer in the league’s history.
Chants of 'you're not fit to referee' rang around the City Ground when Mason Mount went unpunished for a challenge on Johnson. The hosts looked more than up for the fight against their illustrious visitors, and backed by a vociferous crowd, Steve Cooper’s side had hope of a comeback going into the break. The Blues looked nervous following the restart, and Kepa was forced to deny Taiwo Awoniyi after the Nigerian was played through on goal by Remo Freuler. Gibbs-White then picked out Johnson, and Kepa was called into action once again to keep out the Welshman's angled drive.
Potter's men were living on the edge, as Gibbs-White rattled the crossbar with a stinging effort after being superbly picked out by Ryan Yates to rouse the Forest fans. A deserved and ultimately decisive leveller came just past the hour mark from a Gibbs-White corner courtesy of Serge Aurier, who was coolness personified in the box to chest the ball down and power a brilliant volley past Kepa. Forays forward were limited for the West Londoners, but a rare moment of quality from the visitors saw Hakim Ziyech deliver an excellent cross towards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who agonisingly failed to make contact with the Moroccan's delivery.
Ultimately, Chelsea might have been relieved to leave the East Midlands with a point, leaving them eighth in the Premier League table. After winning only one of their last eight league games, the Blues are left seven points adrift of Manchester United in their increasingly difficult quest to finish in the top four. Meanwhile, Forest moved up one place in the table to 18th, with only goal difference keeping Cooper's side inside the relegation zone behind West Ham United.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)