(Football news) An improved second half performance in the Premier League by Nottingham Forest helped Steve Cooper’s team secure a point against Chelsea at The City Ground. The result meant that Nottingham Forest remained in the relegation zone (18th place) with 14 points while Chelsea are eighth, level on points with Fulham (who have played a game more) with 25 points. Graham Potter will be undoubtedly disappointed by his team’s dreadful second half display and to make matters worse, they will take on reigning champions Manchester City on Thursday.
In team news, Nottingham Forest made two changes with Henderson replacing Hennessey and Gibbs-White replacing Jesse Lingard, who is injured. As for Chelsea, they made a single change with Azpilicueta featuring instead of Reece James who has injured his knee yet again. Despite being in the relegation zone and recently losing to Manchester United 3-0, Nottingham Forest have shown that they can compete against the best teams in the league, defeating City and Tottenham at home and securing a deserved point against Chelsea. The Blues were lucky to not concede a second when Brennan Johnson’s effort was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
“You’re playing Chelsea, we have to accept that. Tactically we were really good in the first and second half of the game. First half we weren’t aggressive enough with our press. We waited too long before going after the ball. You can’t just go after the ball against Chelsea because you’ll get played through and you’re too open, but you’ve got to get up to the ball at the right time.
Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper
“I think we were unlucky with the goal. It hits the bar and could go anywhere but drops onto Raheem’s right foot. Second-half we were much more aggressive in our duels. We were the better team, for me, over the course of the game, if you look at the amount of real chances in the game. On the basis of that, a point is the least we deserve. We should take a bit of spirit from the performance.”
“It’s a hard-earned point against a team that’s set up well. They used the atmosphere and, certainly in the second half, put us under a lot of pressure. Our performance level wasn’t good enough to take the three points. When we had control of the ball, our passing wasn’t fast enough and there wasn’t enough movement. We rallied a little bit but it would have been unfair to take the three points.”
Chelsea manager Graham Potter
