Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca indicated that Nottingham Forest’s red card complicated matters for his team during their 1-1 draw on Sunday in the Premier League.
Chelsea approached the match at Stamford Bridge riding a five-game winning streak and aimed to stay within two points of league leaders Liverpool. However, after a goalless first half, they fell behind to a goal from Chris Wood, making it harder to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches.
Noni Madueke equalized seven minutes later, and James Ward-Prowse’s late red card presented Chelsea with an opportunity to secure all three points in the closing moments. Nevertheless, Robert Sanchez made two crucial saves, ensuring Chelsea left with at least a point before the international break.
After the game, Maresca shared that he believed Chelsea would have deserved victory if they had scored a late winner. He noted that the red card allowed Forest to defend more easily against his side, as Nuno Espirito Santo had players retreat deeper.
As he stated, “I think first 45 minutes we didn’t concede nothing, we controlled the game, created the chances and the performance was very good because you can get frustrated against this kind of team. But, as I said, compared to the Brighton game it’s a completely different kind of game so you need to learn how to play. I thought first half was top and then second half we concede the goal and become a little bit more up and down. After we score immediately and then again we were in control.”
He added, “Probably the red card we think most of the time that 11 vs. 10 is more easy but probably today was even more difficult as they were a line of five with more players inside the box defending. Then you take the risk to lose some balls and you concede counter attacks or set-pieces that they are very strong. But overall I thought the performance was very good and I think we deserved to win the game.”
Looking ahead, Chelsea sits fourth in the standings, four points behind Liverpool, who they will face next on October 20. Following that, they will play Panathinaikos in the Conference League and have back-to-back fixtures against Newcastle United in the Premier League and EFL Cup.
