While the stands celebrated the virtual permanence of Nottingham Forest, which will continue in the ‘Premier League’ unless they lose on the last day and Luton win by 12 goals difference, Reece James reappeared five months later in Chelsea came on in the 79th minute and made it 2-3 in the 82nd minute to Nicolas Jackson, who is fighting to enter Europe with a sudden comeback.
Moisés Caicedo of Chelsea covers the ball against Morgan Gibbs White of Nottingham Forest. Getty Images
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Since last December, the right back had not played a single game. Back in action, his cross to Jackson was a gift. Perfect, with just the right power, with exact precision, the striker connected the header that marked the victory of the London team, which is level with Newcastle on points, in sixth position, and which surpasses Manchester United, although the ‘Red Devils’ with one game less… Against Arsenal.
Everything open yet to play the Conference League. A minor prize for a team designed for much more, but whose circumstances, with its disappointing start to the campaign, provide a unique value in the reconstruction that began a year and a half ago, emphasized last summer and still incomplete, although closer : They have only lost one of their last thirteen Premier League games, although it was a resounding 5-0 against Arsenal.
This Saturday, like so many other times, He navigated his own insecurities, on the verge of falling, but not only did he survive, but he recovered until he triumphed.. In another section of the course, for example at the beginning, a 1-2 scenario with less than a quarter of an hour remaining would have been an early resolution of their defeat. It is true that the game should have been different, because Forest was already saved and Chelsea took advantage at full speed.
From the 8th minute, when Cole Palmer connected with Mykhailo Mudryk to make it 0-1. Palmer’s inside pass sparked the action. His vision for Mudryk’s diagonal unmarking, which he defined with ease, out of Matz Sels’ reach, it was half a goal. The other half was from his Ukrainian teammate, who had not scored a goal in any of his last ten duels. He has three in the 25 most recent games. He needs even more.
But Chelsea is still moving on that unpredictable edge. His defense still fails. The Nottingham Forest goal cannot be understood any other way. 1-1 in the 16th minute. A free kick into the area that Willy Boly finished completely alone. Moisés Caicedo had lost the mark. Conor Gallagher did not reach the auction. Close, against the post, Petrovic didn’t reach either.
The London team also needs more punch in attack. Most infallible scorers. The umpteenth regret of the season was the one-on-one that ended in nothing for Nicolas Jackson. At half an hour, his shot, after another extraordinary pass from Cole Palmer that he proposed to the former Villarreal forward in the race towards the goal, was repelled by Matz Sels with his left foot.
Chelsea disappeared at the start of the second half. Forest was the team that was most interested in the attack, with all its limitations, but also with all the concern it caused in Pochettino’s block, saved by the posts. One, with a shot from outside the Yates area. Another, with a header from Wood from less than a meter away. Two more warnings for an already vulnerable defensive structure.
And, even more visibly, it did not attack. The Argentine coach detected it. Before action time, he chose Malo Gusto and, above all, Nkunku. The brand new signing from last summer (he paid 60 million euros to Leipzig for his transfer), in his second game since February, in the twelfth of the campaign, between injuries, burst onto the field.
The Chelsea of the future needs him. His best version. His 58 goals in two years in the German team describe a lot of what his current team lacks in attack, which recovered moment by moment, responded with another shot on the post, with a perfect free kick into Palmer’s area that Thiago combed Silva against the post, and apparently regained control of the match, altered again by a right hand from Aina.
Forest’s seventeenth shot. Three on goal. The eighteenth was another Hudson-Odoi shot against the crossbar. With 30 percent ownership. With 20 minutes left. Chelsea had launched eight, only two on target. I needed more. That is why Sterling came in, replacing Mudryk, to relaunch Chelsea, who did not see anything clear, even less so when the nineteenth, also by Hudson-Odoi, was 2-1. In the 74th minute.
The revenge of a footballer who was his, transferred last summer for 3.5 million euros from Stamford Bridge to The City Ground, where the advantage lasted a sigh, as soon as Raheem Sterling made one of his most specialized plays: he controlled the ball On the wing, he moved from outside to inside and scored 2-2 with his right foot against the other post.
The last change had been Reece James. Injured since December, his reappearance five months later was a definitive boost for the victory in Nottingham, because his cross was a gift for Jackson’s shot in the 82nd minute. Chelsea’s victory. Europe is still possible. They maintain the fight with Newcastle, both with 57 points, waiting for the result this day from Manchester United, which can also catch up.