Nicolas Jackson scored late as Chelsea came from behind to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at the City Ground. The Blues were 2-1 down until the last 10 minutes of normal time but struck twice at the death to pick up all three points.
Chelsea got off to a perfect start through Mykhailo Mudryk but saw a spirited Forest turned the game on its head. The Reds levelled the game through Willy Boly in the first-half and went ahead with Callum Hudson-Odoi after the restart, but it didn’t last.
Chelsea lost to Forest earlier in the season, so this was sweet revenge to avoid them doing the double.
Chelsea were held at the break
Chelsea took the lead in the 8th minute through Mudryk. The 23-year-old was picked out down the left flank by Cole Palmer, cut inside on his right foot and made no mistake from close range. Mudryk slotted his effort past Matz Sels to bag his fifth league goal of the season.
Forest took little time to respond, equalising after 15 minutes through Boly. Morgan Gibbs-White floated a free-kick to the back post and Boly was unmarked. The 33-year-old headed home from close range to level the game, but Chelsea will be disappointed with the defending. Nevertheless, the two sides went into the break level.
Jackson delivered at the death
Forest spurned three big opportunities in the second half to take the lead, hitting the woodwork with one effort, but Chelsea didn’t heed the warning. In the 74th minute, however, Forest made it 2-1 through Hudson-Odoi. A counter-attack saw the 23-year-old picked out on the left flank, cut inside and finish into the far corner.
Chelsea weren’t to be denied and responded minutes later through Sterling who scored a carbon-copy goal to Hudson-Odoi’s. The 29-year-old cut inside on his right foot in the area and impressively finished into the bottom corner.
And if Forest were reeling giving up a lead, things would go from bad to worse for them. Chelsea found a winner in the 82nd minute through Jackson. A fast counter saw Reece James picked out on the right flank and his cross was headed home by Jackson.
It was an impressive comeback and a valuable three points in their pursuit of a top-six finish.
