Premier League: Chelsea held to 1-1 Draw by Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest held Chelsea to a draw in their English Premier League (EPL) clash on Sunday afternoon.

The Blues were expected to continue their fine run and win at Stamford Bridge home but fell to a surprise 1-1 scoreline in a game that had fights and ultimately, a red card.

The first half was a drab affair with little or nothing in terms of goalmouth action to boast of, even as Forest deployed their famed low block against the high-flying Chelsea side.

Madueke did come close to breaking the deadlock late in the first half but saw his curler go agonizingly close above the crossbar.

The second half began in the worst possible way for Chelsea, with Chris Wood gifting Forest the opener in the 49th minute.

The Blues were not perturbed and searched for the equalizer straight away.

Chelsea pulled one back when Noni Madueke curled a low strike into the bottom right of the Forest goalie, Selz. The Blues then went in search of a second but met a resolute Forest rearguard that proved dogged.

James Ward-Prowse was shown a red card in the 78th minute when he stopped a goalscoring opportunity by reaching out and grabbing the ball to prevent a Blues attack.

Chelsea Head Coach, Enzo Maresca, was probably guilty for the dropped points as he failed to make changes early on, waiting till the 81st minute before taking off the ineffective duo of Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez.

Substitutes, Joao Felix and Nkunku almost made an instant impact, with a point-blank header by Nkunku parried away by Selz.

Substitute, Pedro Neto, soon whipped a delightful ball that met the head of his fellow Portuguese, Felix, but the latter’s header went disappointingly wide.

Forest, surprisingly, should have snatched the win late on and had Robert Sanchez to thank for punching out a glancing header from Jota Silva.

The game ended 1-1, a slipup that saw Chelsea lose sight of the EPL title chase momentarily after victories for Manchester City and Liverpool on Saturday