5 talking points as Chelsea lose top-four ground in meek Nottingham Forest draw

01 January 2023 , 18:22

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Serge Aurier punished Chelsea with a second-half goal (Image: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Serge Aurier grabbed a deserved equaliser for Nottingham Forest to hold Chelsea to a damaging draw in the Premier League on New Year's Day.

Chelsea took the lead out of the blue when Christian Pulisic's cross deflected onto the crossbar via a touch from Willy Boly and dropped invitingly for Raheem Sterling to blast home. Brennan Johnson spurned two good chances to equalise and Morgan Gibbs-White struck the underside of the crossbar before Forest made it 1-1.

The visitors failed to clear a corner and Boly nodded down for Aurier, who showed great composure to control the ball and hit a volley through Kepa Arrizabalaga's legs. Graham Potter brought on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech and Conor Gallagher, but the substitutes could not turn the tide.

Chelsea remain eighth in the Premier League table, on 25 points from 16 games. They are seven points adrift of Manchester United in fourth and have won just one of their last seven league matches. Here are Mirror Football's talking points from the game.

Silva’s cool head

Thiago Silva was a calm head in the Chelsea defence (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

There seems to be a rule among commentators that states that every mention of Thiago Silva has to be preceded by a mention of his age. But Silva’s age – that’s 38 in case you didn’t know – has no relevance to his performances at the moment.

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The Brazilian is by far Chelsea’s best defender and showed his experience on several occasions at the City Ground, with his calm interventions coming as a stark contrast to his defensive partner, Kalidou Koulibaly.

Silva has a happy knack of finding himself in the right place at the right time. One example of his innate skill came when he produced a perfectly-timed tackle to stop Gibbs-White in his tracks after Forest threatened to counter-attack.

Forest keep going

Brennan Johnson wasted two great chances for Forest (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Coming into this game, only Wolves had scored fewer goals than Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Their troubles in front of goal were initially clear to see against the Blues.

Johnson threatened time and again in behind the Chelsea backline, with Steve Cooper’s tactics obvious and spot on. But although the Wales international’s movement and pace was promising, his finishing was poor.

A simple ball over the top saw him get in early on, only for a weak left-footed finish to be comfortably pushed away by Kepa. After a mistake by Cesar Azpilicueta, Johnson was in again in the second half, but chose to shoot from an angle rather than look for Taiwo Awoniyi. After Gibbs-White struck the bar, they finally got their reward through Aurier's composed finish.

Transfers on the horizon

David Datro Fofana was present at the City Ground (Sky Sports)

The new year brings the January transfer window and there was a clear reminder of Chelsea’s upcoming business in Nottingham.

The cameras caught a sight of David Datro Fofana in the stands after the Blues agreed to pay Molde a fee of between £8m and £10m for the Ivory Coast international striker. The 20-year-old has scored 15 goals in 24 games in Norway's top flight this season and could prove useful after Armando Broja suffered a season-ending knee injury.

However, it is likely that Chelsea fans are more excited about the pending arrival of Benoit Badiashile. The 21-year-old is expected to undergo a medical on Monday after Monaco agreed to sell him for £35m.

Koulibaly wobbly

Kalidou Koulibaly did not have a good game for Chelsea (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Koulibaly looked like a solid piece of business in the summer when Chelsea signed him from Napoli for around £33m, but the Senegal international is yet to really find his feet in the Premier League.

He is a vastly experienced player, at 31, yet is often guilty of brain fades, with lapses of concentration and rash decision-making far too regular for a top-quality player. Awoniyi gave him a torrid time on Sunday evening, drawing him into silly fouls and constantly taking him out of position. There was even a cheeky nutmegs on the Chelsea defender, which required Kepa to be alert to clean up.

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With Wesley Fofana still unavailable due to injury, the signing of Badiashile could well be one for now, rather than the future, for Chelsea.

Blunt Blues

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a brilliant chance late on (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Potter has quite a few issues to work through at Chelsea, who had lost four successive matches before their 2-0 win over Bournemouth earlier in the week, but their lack of attacking threat might be the most serious.

The Blues have been toothless this season, with their tally of 20 goals in 16 Premier League games lagging way behind their rivals; Manchester City have 44 goals; Arsenal have netted 40; Tottenham and Liverpool 33 each.

Kai Havertz does not look like a No.9, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's lack of confidence was on display late on. Fellow substitute Hakim Ziyech sent in a perfect back-post cross, but the former Arsenal captain could not muscle his way in to convert it. Chelsea dominated possession against their relegation-threatened opponents, yet failed to create much against the league's second-leakiest defence. That is damning.

Felix Keith