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 17th place but Chelsea’s status under Graham Potter remains a matter for debate after they let slip a lead established by Raheem Sterling’s opener.
Chelsea have won only once, against Bournemouth on Tuesday, in seven league games as they enter a critical week in which they play Manchester City twice. Edging above Brighton to level on points with seventh-placed Fulham was, presumably, not what Todd Boehly, the Chelsea co-owner, had in mind when he hired Potter from the former to replace Thomas Tuchel as head coach in September. Perhaps next Sunday’s visit to the Etihad in the third round of the FA Cup represents a better route to success this season than Thursday’s Premier League home game against the champions.
