Nottingham Forest earned a potentially priceless point in their fight for Premier League survival in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with Taiwo Awoniyi grabbing a brace for the former two-time European champions.
Raheem Sterling scored both goals for Chelsea, whose winless home run stretched to six games. Steve Cooper’s Forest team, however, ended a seven-game losing run on the road.
Frank Lampard elected to promote Edouard Mendy to the starting line-up in place of Kepa Arrizabalaga, but the decision soon backfired, as the Senegal international came for Renan Lodi’s cross, missed, and Awoniyi gratefully headed home into an unprotected goal.
Rustiness perhaps came into play for a man who was making his first start in any competition for five months, but Chelsea briefly responded well to that early setback.
Only a couple of moments after Moussa Niakhate missed a golden chance to make it 2-0 to Nottingham Forest early in the second half, Lampard’s half-time team talk paid dividends, as Trevoh Chalobah got to the byline and cut back for an unmarked Sterling to fire home the equaliser in the 51st minute, albeit with the help of a significant deflection off of Ryan Yates.
Sterling’s leveller was his first top-flight goal since New Year’s Day – also against Forest at the City Ground – and as Chelsea began to take the game by the scruff of the neck, the 28-year-old soon doubled his tally for the afternoon in the 58th minute.
However, delight turned to dismay for the home crowd just four minutes after Sterling’s second, as Chelsea failed to deal with a long throw into the box, and the ball found its way to Orel Mangala to cross for Awoniyi’s second header of the afternoon.
It was the Nigerian international’s eighth Premier League goal of the season.
With two games remaining, Forest stay three points clear of the relegation zone in 16th place, while Chelsea have dropped below Crystal Palace into 12th thanks to the Eagles’ 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
The Blues now face a daunting assignment away at champions Manchester City next Sunday, while the Tricky Trees also face a title-challenging team in Arsenal at the City Ground on May 20.
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