A sense of disbelief that this game finished level must have gripped both these sides at the final whistle.
An ill-tempered contest, with Forest reduced to 10 men in the closing stages, culminated in a mesmerising 13-minute period of added time in which both goalkeepers, Robert Sanchez and Matz Sels, conjured saves that defied belief to preserve a point.
A draw was a reality check for Chelsea after five successive wins in all competitions, but it could have been worse.
Forest led early in the second half as Nikola Milenkovic flicked on a free kick for Chris Wood to guide beyond Sanchez. For all their possession, Chelsea had largely been frustrated by the excellent Sels, but did summon a swift response to falling behind. Noni Madueke, collecting from Cole Palmer, cut inside and curled a low left-foot shot into the far corner to draw Chelsea level.
That prompted more sustained pressure from the home side with their cause helped by James Ward-Prowse’s red card for grabbing the ball as he stumbled on the halfway line as Nicolas Jackson threatened to break away.
Yet with tensions spilling over late on in a fracas between players and staff near the touchline, the game culminated in a frenzy of opportunities at either end that were all thwarted by the excellence of the goalkeepers.
Liam Twomey dissects the key talking points from a frenetic occasion at Stamford Bridge.
Was Maresca’s pre-match realism proved right?
Some might have perceived Maresca as unduly pessimistic when he insisted in his pre-match media comments that Chelsea are not ready to compete at the top of the Premier League with Manchester City and Arsenal, but this match laid out the foundation for his thinking.
It was always clear that Forest, who frustrated and then stung Liverpool at Anfield out of the lowest of low blocks, would present a polar opposite challenge from the hyper-aggressive Brighton last weekend. At times Chelsea seemed well prepared for that, particularly in possession, but they looked ill equipped to deal with their more physical opponents at dead ball situations long before Wood poked in the opening goal.
Once behind, Chelsea showed good character to persist with the plan and were rewarded by Madueke’s equaliser, but the manner in which they managed the game after Ward-Prowse’s hilarious red card highlighted the distance their collective problem solving still needs to cover to reach the elite.
Forest countered from a motivated low block and generated at least as many chances as Chelsea to win the game in the closing minutes, and Maresca has Sanchez to thank for several brilliant saves that averted an embarrassing defeat.
Forest are awkward, talented opponents, but those abound in the Premier League. On a weekend in which City and Arsenal both found ways to win in difficulty, Chelsea’s two points dropped at Stamford Bridge is a valuable lesson for their young team and a depressing form of vindication for Maresca.
Was Madueke a man under pressure?
When the ball nestled beyond Sels and into the far corner in the 57th minute, Madueke had no desire to wheel away in front of the Matthew Harding Stand. Instead he turned and immediately jogged back towards the Chelsea bench on the halfway line where he had an animated, smiling exchange with his teammates behind head coach Maresca.
His demeanour gave off more relief than jubilation, and not just because his equaliser had given Chelsea life against an obdurate Forest.
Madueke had gone five club appearances without registering a goal or an assist since his memorable hat-trick against Wolves at Molineux last month, and you can be confident that no one was more mindful of that fact than Madueke himself.
Madueke had endured a quiet run of games (Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)
No player on the pitch was more aggressive from the early exchanges in seeking his own shot; Madueke cut inside Alex Moreno and screwed one low effort wide of Sels’ near post in the 10th minute. For much of the first half it felt like he was forcing it a little, shanking one right-footed cross out of play with teammates well placed and curling another left-footed attempt over the bar in heavy traffic just outside the Forest penalty area.
But that aggression was sorely needed, particularly once Chelsea had fallen behind. Madueke was the only player in Maresca’s team who could consistently create an advantage, and he tested Moreno at every opportunity. On the other side Jadon Sancho lacked the burst of speed to make his clever jinks and feints stick, and Palmer struggled more than usual to find space.
Madueke generated Chelsea’s best scoring chance of the first half, driving beyond Moreno to the byeline and committing Sels before cutting the ball back to Palmer. The visiting goalkeeper got more than a slice of luck to smother the ball off the post.
It paid off for Madueke and for Chelsea in the 57th minute. Pressure for your place is a constant in a squad like this, and the fact that Pedro Neto – a more recent, more expensive signing – scored against Barrow and Gent will have been prominent in Madueke’s mind. Those concerns will recede just a little now.
How good can this centre-half partnership be?
The most memorable moment of the first half was Levi Colwill, pumping his fists on his knees while being embraced by Robert Sanchez after making a brilliant, potentially goal-saving block from Ryan Yates. The most memorable moment of the second half was Colwill angrily squaring up to Forest substitute Neco Williams, sparking a mass brawl in front of the home dugout.
Colwill was largely excellent here, assured in possession and intelligent in his reading of defensive situations, as well as providing some feisty leadership when he felt team-mate Marc Cucurella needed defending.
He looks every inch a Chelsea captain, but he is only one half of a central defensive pairing that is showing real promise.
Wesley Fofana was also highly impressive, battling the man mountain that is Chris Wood while Colwill covered the space behind him. His front-foot instincts and vertical leap made that particular tussle a genuinely competitive one, and at times it felt like he was Chelsea’s only effective defence against Forest’s aerial bombardment from set-pieces.
The fact that both appeared to be in some degree of physical discomfort will worry Maresca.
Colwill signalled early in the second half that he had felt a pull high in the back of his left leg, while the sight of Fofana moving in a more laboured manner is always a worry with that ever-present kinesio tape around his left knee.
Both may be afforded time to recover over the international break, and it is just as well, because Maresca will not want the chemistry that is building at the base of his team to be set back.
What did Enzo Maresca say?
We will bring you the Chelsea head coach’s assessment once he has completed his post-match media duties.
What next for Chelsea?
Sunday, October 20: Liverpool (Away), Premier League, 4.30pm UK, 11.30am ET
A mouth-watering game awaits following the international window at Anfield, where Chelsea have won once in the Premier League in a decade.
Recommended reading
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- Why Renato Veiga is becoming that Chelsea rarity — a bargain buy
- Palmer, Kane, Watkins, Saka, Gordon, Bellingham, Foden… who starts in England’s attack?
- Row Z: Ronaldo the team player, Celtic’s 70,716 miles of suffering and a blow-up Kane
- Antonee Robinson: My game in my words
(Top photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images)
