Koulibaly limited as Chelsea’s aging defence exploited
Raheem Sterling scored in the 16th minute after a ball contested by Willy Bory and Kai Havertz came back from Woodwork and landed at the England international’s feet, but the Blues were able to carry on. There was no. Serge Aurier equalized shortly after the hour mark, forcing the visitors to score a point and take eighth place in the Premier League table.
positive
Chelsea built up some great passages of play from the start, even if they didn’t always lead to goal chances. Sterling’s goal came from the Blues’ first big chance and showed a welcome clinical advantage.
negative
Despite the aggressive play of the visitors early on, it was Forest attacker Brennan Johnson who created the first notable chance. There were times when it was very easy for the hosts to move forward and get around Chelsea’s defense behind, and the second half was a particular concern as Forest eventually leveled up.
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Manager rating out of 10
Graham Potter, 6 years old — The manager stuck with the players who impressed him against Bournemouth and saw the side play well at first, but was unable to change the game as he pulled away from Chelsea in the second half. His triple his change again turned the momentum around, but it wasn’t enough to score the winner.
Player rating (1-10, 10 = best, no rating for players introduced after 70 minutes)
GK Kepa Arrizabalaga, 7 — After the Welsh national team broke through, he got up well to save Johnson’s shot.He made a fairly comfortable save to deny Taiwo Awoniyi, then denied Johnson again shortly afterwards. When he was finally beaten, no chance was given.
DF Cesar Azpilicueta, 5 — He put in a nice block to stop Morgan Gibbs-White and strayed his own shot wide out of range. They struggled in the second half as Johnson was unable to catch up when he ran behind and was subsequently cautioned for a foul on Renan Lodi. I couldn’t get close enough to Aurier to reject the Equalizer.
DF Kalidou Koulibaly, 4 — They moved the ball well in the first half and created chances for Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic. But he had a really hard time dealing with Awonyi.
DF Thiago Silva, 7 years old — He showed his experience by deftly cutting Awoniyi’s cross and stopping Gibbs-White’s forward burst. He also played some ambitious passes to make life awkward for Forest’s defenders.
DF Mark Cucurella, 6 — Not only did he play a fairly solid defense to keep Johnson out of the channel, but he also contributed to the tie-up with Pulisic.
Midfielder Dennis Zakaria, 6 — His patience was put to the test by Ryan Yates, but he continued with an impressive first-half display in the middle of the pitch, especially holding off opponents. .
Midfielder Jorginho, 6 — We played some great passes, including a pass to Sterling in the buildup, leading to mounting opportunities, but he was taken out of the game too easily.
MF Mason Mount, 7 — The former Derby County loanee has not been afraid to get involved in the combative side of the game, but he showed quality with a fully weighted pass to Pulisic in the build-up to the opener. You’ve created a great block to stop Gibbs-White.
Forward Raheem Sterling, 7 — Although he wasn’t always on the same wavelength as his teammates in the early stages, he made good mount choices in the box and scored the opener with a clinical finish. After being possessed by Bollie, he took a free kick on the edge of his own box and faded out of the game.
Forward Kai Havertz, 5 — Dropping deep to link plays and sometimes having a good presence, he was guilty of wasting a promising opening by delivering loose touches in the box on several occasions. did. His unconvincing header made things difficult for Forest’s equalizer.
Forward Christian Pulisic, 6 — It often gave Forest’s defenders real trouble whenever they found themselves in one-on-one situations. Joe easily defeated Worrall and Aurier also struggled against him. He hit a weak shot from a promising position and was passed by Boley for the equalizer.
substitute
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic, 5 — He substituted Zakaria in the 61st minute, but could do nothing to prevent Forest from equalizing just two minutes later.
Forward Hakim Ziyech, N/R — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang seemed most likely to deliver a great cross that he could not convert and make things happen.
MF Conor Gallagher, N/R — He seemed to get on the ball right away on his introduction and put some great passes forward, but to no avail.
FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, N/R — He tried to make things happen, but Ziyech’s exquisite header from a cross missed the mark.
Forward Kearney Chukwuemeka, N/R — After his late introduction, he could not find a way to lead Chelsea to a winner.