Ten-man Forest half Chelsea momentum

Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White has a shot and picks up an injury against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Picture: Bradley Collyer/PA

Premier League: Chelsea 1 (Madueke) Nottingham Forest 1 (Wood)

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are still a work in progress, on the one hand missing a chance to keep pace with the Premier League leaders, on the other, avoiding another home defeat by Nottingham Forest.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost their home fixture against Forest last season, and while this draw was a slight upgrade, Maresca knows his side cannot afford to drop points in games like these if they are to give Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal a run for their money.

Chelsea visit Anfield after the international break and could have gone there with a chance to go top of the table by beating Liverpool, if only their dominance against Forest had been converted into three points.

Despite going down to 10 men when James Ward-Prowse was sent off for handball in the latter stages, Forest held on to move into the top half of the table, a much better position than many had predicted for Nune Espirito Santo’s side.

Chris Wood had given the visitors the lead early in the second-half, before Noni Madueke equalised eight minutes later in a game that burst into life after the break.

It ended with a mass confrontation between players and staff on the touchline late in the game, and 13 minutes of stoppage time.

Chelsea are still unbeaten under Maresca, but they had a tougher task against Forest’s low block this week than they had against Brighton’s high defensive line last Saturday, when Cole Palmer scored four goals before half-time.

“It was a completely different type of game, and you need to learn how to deal with it,” said Maresca afterwards. “After the sending off, you think 11 v 10 should be easier but they got five men in a line inside the box defending deeply and you risk losing to counter-attacks or set-pieces. Overall I thought we were in control and deserved to win.”

Chelsea were not in control of their emotions, however, when it all kicked off on the touchline late in the game, after Neco Williams appeared to barge Marc Cucurella in the direction of Maresca, sending the Chelsea manager flying and leading to a mass confrontation between both sets of players and coaching staff.

The match resumed after Kavanagh brandished yellow cards to both sides, and the result is Chelsea will have both Cucurella and Wesley Fofana suspended for the game at Liverpool after reaching five cards.

Not that Maresca is too concerned about his players’ discipline. “It is something we need to improve on, but I like the way they are fighting for each other, becoming a team like this.”

Forest silenced Stamford Bridge four minutes into the second half from a superb set piece routine. Ward-Prowse whipped the ball to the back post for defender Nikola Milenkovic, whose goalward header was flicked into the back of the net by Wood for his fourth goal of the season.

It was against the run of play, though, and Madueke equalised soon afterwards, the winger combining with Palmer before cutting inside and firing a shot into the bottom left corner to bring Maresca’s side level.

Madueke could have had a hat-trick, but he headed directly at Selz and then blasted over the bar from Jadon Sancho’s cutback, all within two minutes of the equaliser.

Morgan Gibbs-White had to depart the pitch with 17 minutes remaining after suffering an ankle injury, jeopardising his hopes of adding to his one England cap in the upcoming international break.

Ward-Prowse was then sent off for handball. An overhit back pass left the midfielder in a race with the speedy Nicolas Jackson, and a slip led to Ward-Prowse deliberately handling the ball, giving referee Christopher Kavanagh no choice.

The result keeps Chelsea in fourth place and moved Forest, who had won at Anfield last month, up to ninth.

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1): Sanchez 7; Cucurella 5, Colwill 6 (Tosin, 93), Fofana 6, Gusto 5, Fernandez 6 (Felix 81), Caicedo 6, Sancho 7 (Mudryk 90), Palmer 7, Madueke 8 (Neto 90), Jackson 5 (Nkunku 81).

NOTTM FOREST (4-2-3-1): Sels 7; Aina 6, Milenkovic 7, Murillo 6, Moreno 6 (Williams 82), Ward-Prowse 4, Yates 6, Anderson 6 (Jota Silva 66), Gibbs-White 7 (Dominguez 76), Hudson-Odoi 6 (Morato 82), Wood 7 (Elanga 82).

Referee: Christopher Kavanagh 5