Week 7 Match Review: Chelsea 1 - Nottingham Forest 1
Welcome back, did I miss anything during my temporary hiatus? Let’s see…
Some confident finishing in Match Week Four from Nicolas Jackson in East London where the bubbles were most certainly not blowing. Oh, and young Friar Tuck himself put up four (and what could’ve been six, realistically) against Brighton in Match Week Five. OH oh, the weeknight team, led by captain Axel Disasi, put up four against Gent, who sit in fourth in the Belgian Pro League and are not to be confused with Genk (who sit in first). And what about this little mess-around with Forest? Let’s dive in.
What Was Good
Noni Madueke Came to Play
After being arguably the most impressive attacker on Chelsea's pre-season tour, Noni Madueke has been overshadowed by Cole Palmer and Nicholas Jackson’s impressive performances over the first quarter of the season. As such, Madueke came out in full force on Sunday, putting up what felt like roughly 73 shots in the first half and finally netting a clever left footed shot through traffic to even the match in the 57th minute. It would’ve been nice to see him bag a brace, but it’s a turn back in the right direction with Pedro Neto and Jaden Sancho both looking for additional minutes.
Robert Sanchez Had Some Very Big Saves
Over my five years of watching Chelsea, the squad has never had a keeper that truly exuded confidence, and Robert Sanchez is no different. He has his moments of greatness, and moments of what-the-fuckness, balanced out by strong B- goal stopping the rest of the time. But just when I start to discount his steady hand, he pulls off a few key saves that prevented the Blues from getting embarrassed when they had the one-man advantage after James Ward-Prowse’s sending off. Thank you, Robert. You’re not the keeper any of us really want, but sometimes you’re the one we do indeed need.
Cole Palmer Doing Cole Palmer Things Even When He Doesn’t Score
Towards the end of the game, Liverpool castoff Nico Williams not-so-lightly tripped Marc Cucurella out of bounds, sending him directly into Big Enzo’s legs. As you can imagine, Sideshow Marc did not take kindly to this and a large scuffle thus did scuffle. But as most the majority of the 21 men on the pitch got into a heated swarm, ol’ #20 decided to take a break and plop down on the field to watch. Palmer had an interesting day with a few great chances that were stifled by Belgian wall Matz Sels, who really kept Forest in a game that could’ve become a blowout. Regardless, things like this only add to Young Friar Tuck’s growing oddball persona, and I’m here for it.
What Was Bad
Well… They Still Tied a Team Who Only Had 10 Men on the Pitch at the Whistle
Overall, it was a perfectly fine performance against a stubborn, pragmatic Forest team who looked oddly cohesive under Big Nuno. And with Chelsea sitting in fourth with Villa right behind them, there isn’t a ton to complain about. However, just as Big Enzo pointed out midweek, Chelsea isn’t ready to compete at the top of the table and this game shows exactly why. In order to reach the mountain top, you must take advantage of every mismatch and opportunity you get – especially when that means playing the last 20 minutes of a match with a numerical advantage.
The Blues had plenty of opportunities to add a second goal with 22 shots on the night, but the finishing just wasn’t quite there and the team seemed to be missing just a bit of flash to break through Forest’s conservative defense. Still, a point’s a point and after going undefeated over their last six matches since that opening day beatdown from City, Big Enzo’s Blues look like an actual team, rather than just a mix and match of the world’s most promising U23 players.
What’s Next
Somehow we’ve already reached the second international break of the season, which will be followed by a trip to Anfield and the squad’s first real challenge since Week One. It’ll be great to see how the Blues face up against a Liverpool side that might now be title favorites, and between Caicedo, Little Enzo, Luis Diaz, and Darwin Núñez, the sheer amount of South American shit talking is sure to be absolutely incredible. See you in a few weeks.
