English Premier League: 10-man Forest stall Chelsea’s momentum

Ten-man Nottingham Forest was able to end their dismal run of four successive losses on their visits to London on Sunday after holding Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in an exhilarating fixture at the Bridge. 

Prior to the contest, Chelsea were clear favorites, having only lost to Manchester City on the opening day and winning five straight matches across all competitions since then. 

However, it was going to be difficult getting a win against Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest side, who has equally had an electric start to the campaign with just one loss in seven outings. 

Due to the visitors’ cohesion in the defense, the cagey start to proceedings on Sunday afternoon was far from shocking, as Noni Madueke was the only player who tried his luck on numerous occasions to snatch something for Chelsea in the early period.

The final minutes of the first half saw some goalmouth chances, with The Blues coming close to taking the lead when Madueke dashed into the box and pulled back to Palmer, whose deflected effort was cleared by the Forest goalkeeper.

The visitors got an unexpected lead in the second period with a set-piece delivery from James Ward-Prowse, who found Nikola Milenkovic, who headed the ball down for Christ Wood to slide directly into the far post.

The lead only lasted seven minutes, though, as Chelsea’s rampaging Madueke found the back of the net after cutting inside from the right to bury a low shot into the bottom corner.

Enzo Maresca’s young team gained momentum after the parity and searched for their second of the afternoon, which never came. The game, however, took a dramatic turn in the last fifteen minutes; Ward-Prowse was dismissed for a second yellow when he prevented a Jackson breakaway, which could have resulted in a winner for Chelsea.

The two goalkeepers produced breathtaking saves in the last minutes to ensure that neither side ended on the losing side.