Enzo Maresca encouraged his Chelsea players to keep fighting after another match in which his team racked up enough yellow cards to ensure the Football Association’s coffers were strengthened.
The Blues will be fined £50,000 for receiving at least six bookings against Nottingham Forest’s 10 men, double the £25,000 penalty they paid for the same offense last month at Bournemouth because they are considered repeat offenders.
While a 1-1 score may seem normal, this match was as frenetic as they come, a contest never more chaotic than when Neco Williams instigated a massive melee.
It was in the 88th minute when Williams pushed Marc Cucurella into Enzo Maresca, forcing the Chelsea coach to fall. Naturally, it sparked a reaction from the hosts, with Levi Colwill rushing to protest to Williams as all hell broke loose at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson couldn’t help it, the already substituted striker apparently slapped Morato in the middle of the aggro. VAR Jarred Gillett decided the altercation did not constitute violent conduct but could be investigated further by the FA.
Chelsea were held to one point against 10-man Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The visitors drew first blood when Chris Wood scored from a James Ward-Prowse set-piece.
But Noni Madueke was on hand to get the Blues back on level terms minutes later.
Noni Madueke was also involved in the melee and, worryingly, his England call-up is now in jeopardy as two Chelsea staff members had to take him away after getting hurt.
It summed up the madness of a match in which James Ward-Prowse was sent off for two yellow cards, one for backing up Cole Palmer and another in which he bizarrely grabbed the ball to prevent Jackson from attacking the goal. Ward-Prowse will be joined on the Premier League suspended list by Wesley Fofana and Cucurella, each becoming the first players this season to receive five cards. They will now miss the trip to Liverpool in two weeks.
It wasn’t until last season that Chelsea broke the Premier League record for yellow cards received, showing 105 in total. Seven games into this current campaign, it’s already 27. However, Maresca sees no problem with the way his players behave.
‘I’m not going to pay for it!’ Maresca joked about the £50,000 fine. “It’s something we have to improve, but overall I like the way the team is fighting.” I like the way they are becoming a team on this kind of thing. I don’t see any problem with that.’
On whether Jackson was foolish to get involved, Maresca added: “I like the team spirit. I don’t see any problem. If you ask me about the team spirit, the way they fight together, the way they do things together, I’m very happy.’
This match would not have ended 1-1 if it were not for the goalkeepers, Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez and Forest’s Matz Sels, who took turns making sensational saves as if they were carrying out their own personal competition.
Forest fans celebrated at full time, knowing how hard their players had worked to get to this point. “The second half was crazy,” said Nuno Espirito Santo. “The goalkeepers made great saves and with one man down, mass confusion, red cards, yellow cards, it was all there.”
Cole Palmer came close to opening the scoring, but overall struggled to influence the game.
Wood’s goal just after half-time caused chaos among fans traveling behind the goal.
The 32-year-old has scored three goals in six Premier League games this season.
After getting the equalizer, Chelsea looked to maintain their momentum and kept going.
Chelsea came into this looking for a sixth successive win in all competitions, but Forest were not here to gift their hosts as much space as Brighton, who often left their own half short-handed, helping Palmer to his haul of four goals.
The closest Chelsea came in the opening 10 minutes was when Madueke drove straight at Alex Moreno from the right side, beating his man before going wide.
The same thing happened again in the 24th minute, this time Madueke sent a fierce curler beyond the top left corner.
Although Forest were organized defensively, they created their own chances, Murillo orchestrating just one when he intercepted a forward pass from Enzo Fernandez.
The Brazilian headed towards the opposition area, unleashing a 25-yard rocket that was too hot for Sánchez to handle when the Chelsea goalkeeper pushed him wide.
There were fans celebrating inside Stamford Bridge before half-time because they thought Chelsea had taken the lead, only for referee Chris Kavanagh to theatrically show the crowd that his clock had not rung.
The play began with Murillo losing the ball to Madueke, who ran into the area before cutting the ball.
Palmer’s shot was assisted by Jackson, but it rolled into the post before Sels somehow moved it away from the goal line.
The visitors took the lead in the 49th minute after a set piece, Jackson conceding a free kick on the halfway line which Ward-Prowse sent into the box. The ball was headed by Nikola Milenkovic and Chris Wood kicked it to make it 1-0.
Chelsea put aside their frustration to equalize in the 57th minute. Adding another assist to their stats, Palmer played a deflected pass to Madueke, whose left-footed shot sailed past Murillo and Ryan Yates and past Sels to make it 1-1.
The sending off of Ward-Prowse caused a frenzy in the match and both teams had chances
Forest goalkeeper Mats Sels made several saves in added time to keep the score level.
Jota Silva came close with a header in stoppage time, but Robert Sánchez somehow managed to deflect the ball onto the post.
Palmer thought he had scored the winning goal in the 87th minute, but Sels made a sensational double save. There was no time for replays as the massive melee unfolded thereafter as Williams pushed Cucurella into Maresca.
Chelsea and Forest had their chances to score in the 13th minute of added time. Joao Félix could have won it. Williams could have won it. Christopher Nkunku should have won with a free header that was denied by Sels, while Sánchez set up Jota Silva’s attempt with the clock showing 103 minutes. In the end there weren’t many goals, but there was a lot of aggression.