Nottingham Forest withstood a late Chelsea onslaught with 10 players to gain a priceless Premier League point in a 1-1 draw on a pulsating afternoon in London.
A goalless first half gave way to a frenetic second as Chris Wood met Nikola Milenkovic’s downward header from a James Ward-Prowse free-kick to give Forest the lead four minutes after the restart.
Chelsea responded emphatically as Noni Madueke collected Cole Palmer’s pass to drift inside and find the bottom corner to restore parity (57).
Ward-Prowse’s cynical handball to prevent a goalscoring opportunity deservedly led to him being sent off for the second time in his career at Stamford Bridge (78).
Chelsea probed for a winner as Palmer was denied quite brilliantly by a Matz Sels double save before both benches almost came to blows following a tangle between Marc Cucurella and Neco Williams which saw Enzo Maresca tumble on the touchline.
Forest dug deep through 13 added minutes and a glaring miss from Joao Felix to snatch a point their performance deserved. Williams might have even scored a late winner himself when he stung the gloves of Robert Sanchez before Sels kept out Christopher Nkunku’s header from Mykhailo Mudryk’s cross.
The result means Chelsea remain in fourth on 14 points with Forest four points behind and stationed in ninth heading into the international break.
