Chelsea handed Nottingham Forest a potentially invaluable point in their plot to avoid the drop, after the sides drew 2-2 at Stamford Bridge.
Steve Cooper’s Forest took the lead in an entertaining affair when Taiwo Awoniyi got between Benoit Badiashile and Thiago Silva to nod the ball into an empty net after 13 minutes.
A seven-minute brace from Raheem Sterling had Chelsea in front with a 2-1 lead 58 minutes in, but it took just four minutes for Frank Lampard’s side to lose their advantage as Awoniyi headed in his second to ensure the points were shared.
The point kept Chelsea in 11th and kept 16th-place Forest still just three points above the relegation zone after Leeds drew 2-2 with Newcastle earlier in the day.
Dom Smith was at Stamford Bridge to rate the Chelsea players...
Edouard Mendy — 5
Could have done so much better for the opener. The same is not true for Awoniyi’s second, which was just an excellent header.
Trevoh Chalobah — 7
Another promising display from the centre-back filling in for the injured Reece James at right-back. Got the assist for Sterling’s first.
Benoit Badiashile — 5
Nervy on the ball and beaten far too easily for Awoniyi’s first goal.
Thiago Silva — 5
Like his centre-back partner, should have done so much better to win the aerial ball that led to Awoniyi’s first.
Lewis Hall — 5
Very tense and nervy, understandbly in the cirumstances. Lost the ball a number of times and Chelsea’s midfielders were required to fill in when he was out of position. One decent cross, but plenty for the 18-year-old still to learn.
Mateo Kovacic — 4
Looked again below-par, before being replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek early in first-half stoppage time after picking up an injury.
Enzo Fernandez — 6
Full of passes but again playing too deep to really affect play in the way Benfica fans know he can do. Shame.
Conor Gallagher — 6
His typical busy self. Had one decent effort from range which lifted the crowd during a flat period of the match.
Noni Madueke — 6
Like against Bournemouth last weekend, had plenty of tricks and flicks but his final product still just wasn’t there.
Joao Felix — 7
Quite lively. Tried to get Chelsea’s forward line pressing and so nearly scored a peach in the second half, which just flew over.
Raheem Sterling — 8
It was looking like being another frustrating afternoon in a Chelsea shirt for the England forward, but his two second half goals sealed a point for the Blues. The second strike was outstanding.
Subs:
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Kovacic, 45+1’) — 6
Played confidentally and assisted Sterling’s second with a nice through-ball.
Kai Havertz (Felix, 73’) — 6
Understandably dropped this week after a poor performance at Bournemouth. Came on for the final 17 minutes.
Hakim Ziyech (Madueke, 73’) — 7
Pretty good from the bench, delivering a couple of nice crosses and two shots on target.
