Nottingham Forest earned an important point after drawing 2-2 with Chelsea in an entertaining game at Stamford Bridge. A brace for both Raheem Sterling and Taiwo Awoniyi ultimately shared the points in London as Forest get a key result in the Premier League relegation battle with just two more games to go.
Frank Lampard made five changes from the team that ended a poor run of form after beating Bournemouth. There was a change in between the sticks as Edouard Mendy came in for Kepa. The other changes included youngster Lewis Hall coming into the side along with Mateo Kovacic, Joao Felix and Sterling. Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kante, Kai Havertz and Mykhailo Mudryk all came out the side. There was only one change for Steve Cooper's side as Joe Worrall came in for Brennan Johnson. Serge Aurier was deemed fit enough after coming off in the victory against Southampton.
It took just 13 minutes for the opening goal and it was the away side who took the lead. Renan Lodi sending a cross in from the left which found the head of Taiwo Awoniyi and his header looped over Mendy and into the back of the net. A man on form at the moment after scoring a brace in the victory against Southampton and is proving to be key in the Reds fight for survival.
Chelsea did get a chance before half time. In similar fashion to the opening goal, Hall sent in a dangerous ball from the left and Felix won the header but was denied by Navas as he saved up to his left. The forward, on loan from Athletico Madrid, looking to add to his tally of three league goals this season.
That was it in for the first half as for the third game running, Forest were in front at the break. The Reds defending well against the recent European champions and not letting them get many efforts on goal. There was a injury forced substitute before half time for Chelsea as Kovacic went off for Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Chelsea needed to find response in the second half as they wanted to build on the win at Bournemouth.
Five minutes into the second half, Chelsea did find a response. Trevoh Chalobah was played in down the right side and he cut the ball back to Sterling who's deflected shot found the back of the net. The England international scored in the reverse fixture at the City Ground earlier in the season and he was causing Forest issues again. A feeling Forest fans expected as their side threw away another lead away from home.
Seven minutes later, Sterling scored again. Aurier gave away the ball in the middle of the pitch and Loftus-Cheek broke. The midfielder played it to his left for Sterling who cut in on his right foot and found the top corner from the edge of the box with a brilliant finish. A sixth league goal for the man who joined Chelsea from Premier League champions Manchester City in the summer. A brilliant response from Lampard's men as they made Forest throw away their one goal lead.
Forest then equalised with 61 minutes on the clock. A long throw from Moussa Niakhate was cleared but Orel Mangala helped the ball back into the box and Awoniyi was there to finish from close range. Four goals in two games now for the Nigerian who is now up to eight league goals for the season. Another goal from a Niakhate long throw for the Reds as that is becoming to be a deadly tactic for Cooper's side.
It was another long throw that caused problems for Chelsea. It was cleared again but only as far as Lodi who's powerful volley went just wide of Mendy's goal. The long throwing tactic really looks to be a threat for the Reds after scoring a few goals from them as of late.
Despite late pressure from Chelsea and seeing a lot of the ball, the game finished level. Another home game with no victory for the Blues and they will be hoping the season ends quickly after a very disappointing campaign, especially after a large spending spree across the two transfer windows. The West London side remain 11th and next travel to Manchester City for their penultimate away game of the season. For Forest, they stay 16th and keep a three point gap between them and the bottom three. They are now also four points clear of Leicester City before their game with Liverpool on Monday. The Reds next host Arsenal at the City Ground in their final home game of the season where there is a chance that they are mathematically safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment