Nottingham Forest’s Serge Aurier pegs back Chelsea for precious point

The final whistle was greeted with a huge cheer around an impassioned City Ground as Serge Aurier’s equaliser enabled Nottingham Forest to climb level with 17^th place in the Premier League but, in letting slip a lead established by Raheem Sterling’s opener, Chelsea’s status remains a matter for debate.

They have won just once, against Bournemouth on Tuesday, in seven games as they enter a critical week in which they must play Manchester City twice. Edging above Brighton to go level on points with seventh-placed Fulham was, presumably, not what Todd Boehly had in mind when he hired Graham Potter from the south coast to replace Thomas Tuchel as head coach. Perhaps next Sunday’s visit to the Etihad Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup represents a better chance of success this season than Thursday’s home game against the Premier League champions.

That they managed just one effort off target in the second half is a damning indictment on an attacking array of talent against a Forest team who deserved their point for sheer stubborn bloody-mindedness as much as anything. If Morgan Gibbs-White’s shot against the crossbar had bounced down over the line, few would have complained Forest did not deserve victory as they extended their unbeaten home run to six matches.

Tottenham’s home defeat by Aston Villa had offered Chelsea a spur before they kicked off, even if the top four remained eight points distant at that stage. With reports that Benoît Badiashile, the France defender, was just awaiting a medical before confirming his £33m transfer from Monaco, no one could accuse Chelsea of resting on their laurels and after a quarter of an hour they were ahead and seemingly in control of this game.

Christian Pulisic, finding space in Forest’s area, had already blasted one effort over the crossbar when the American forward played a neat one-two with Mason Mount to make progress down the left flank. Cutting back onto his right foot, Pulisic fired in a devilish centre towards Kai Havertz at the near post where Willy Boly inadvertently backheeled the ball backwards against the far end of the crossbar.

With the recalled Dean Henderson, ineligible to face his parent club, Manchester United, on Tuesday, scrambling to make up ground, Sterling had the easiest invitation to lean back and half-volley the ball into the net. It was his ninth goal in 12 away games against newly promoted sides and, more pertinently, his first for Potter in the Premier League.

Forest, poor in their 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, enjoyed only 20 per cent of first-half possession but plenty of passion as they sought a way back into the game. Even before conceding, Gibbs-White, back from a calf injury, had played Brennan Johnson in through the middle and Kepa Arrizabalaga was relieved to save his left-footed shot as well as the rebound.

Chelsea had responded to Reece James’ injury setback by recalling César Azpilicueta at right-back and in midfield, Denis Zakaria retained his place in the centre of midfield after his Premier League debut in the 2-0 win over Bournemouth. With a reported £106m move for World Cup winner Enzo Fernández reportedly progressing, this was an opportunity for the Switzerland midfielder to make his mark.

Raheem Sterling gives Chelsea a first-half lead. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

He nearly did, on Ryan Yates’s forehead, as the pair grizzled and jibed at each other throughout the first half. The Forest vice-captain was booked for hauling his man to the ground but Zakaria was fortunate to escape sanction as he clenched his fist at Yates and nuzzled heads.

Wryly suggesting Mount is “just a Derby reject”, for the Champions League winner’s loan spell along Brian Clough Way early in his career, reflected Forest fans’ priorities as they reacclimatise to life at the top level but on the field they remain intent on extending their stay back among the elite.

The City Ground became even more of a bearpit in the second half as Forest found their straps. Gibbs-White showed his poise and vision on the ball as he broke out onto Eliaquim Mangala’s short pass and played the perfect channel ball in behind Azpilicueta for Johnson to run onto. The Wales forward took a quick glance across at Taiwo Awoniyi but eschewed the square pass and opted instead to fire his shot at goal. His powerful drive was a nice height for Kepa to parry away.

This helped fuel the belief that Forest could salvage something from this game. When Yates pulled a ball back for Gibbs-White to crash a shot from the edge of the penalty area against the underside of the crossbar, the decibel levels went right up to 11.

Sure enough, the equaliser followed, shortly after Potter replaced Zakaria with Mateo Kovacic, sensing the game’s momentum was going away from him. From Gibbs-White’s corner to the spot where Havertz and Boly had battled for the ball ahead of Chelsea’s opener, the German forward’s weak header was nodded down by Boly for Aurier to chest down, swivel and volley in his first goal for Forest. If this was a goal conceived in the Ivory Coast, it was forged in the furnace of Forest’s fire.

Potter acted to stem the flood with a triple change, introducing Conor Gallagher, Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and sure enough such fresh legs slowed Forest down. There was a sense this was a good point gained for Steve Cooper’s team.

Nine minutes from time, Aubameyang should have done better than dive – perhaps fall would be a better word – to nod an in-swinging centre from Ziyech wide from inside the six-yard box. For Chelsea, this felt more like two points lost.