England winger Noni Madueke’s equaliser rescued Chelsea in a 1-1 draw against 10-man Nottingham Forest in their Premier League game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The draw ended Chelsea’s five-match winning run.
Enzo Maresca’s side fell behind to Chris Wood’s strike early in the second half at Stamford Bridge.
Madueke hauled Chelsea level but the hosts couldn’t find a winner despite their numerical advantage in the closing stages.
Forest had to play the last 12 minutes with 10 men after James Ward-Prowse was sent off.
Chelsea had won their previous three league games – and five in all competitions – to raise hopes that Maresca is the man to lift the west Londoners out of their long malaise.
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Being held by Forest was a setback but Chelsea still go into the international break in fourth place in the Premier League.
Maresca insists Chelsea are not ready to compete with Manchester City and Arsenal for the title, but they have established themselves as candidates for a top four finish.
The Italian demonstrated Chelsea’s enviable strength in depth by fielding an entirely changed starting line-up for Thursday’s 4-2 Europa Conference League win over Gent.
Once again, he made a host of changes but with less success this time.
Chelsea played songs picked by each of their players over the stadium tannoy before kick-off as part of the club’s attempt to enhance the matchday experience.
Joao Felix selected Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Jadon Sancho opted for “Too Fast” by Future.
But for long periods on a drab afternoon in west London, Chelsea’s stars were distinctly out of tune.
Chelsea were fortunate not to fall behind when Murillo’s stinging shot was palmed away by Robert Sanchez.
It took Maresca’s men until three minutes before half-time before they finally tested Forest keeper Matz Sels.
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