Chelsea overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat Nottingham Forest thanks to two late goals. This was Chelsea’s first victory in their four meetings since the Reds’ promotion to the Premier League.
The City Ground was filled with excitement as Luton Town and Burnley lost their kickoffs at three o’clock, making Forest all but safe.
Chris Wood was released behind early on and had a good chance to add to that, but Dorde Petrovic was tall enough to block the striker’s high shot.
Chelsea wasn’t feeling festive as they pursued European football, and with that party being so crucial to the Blues’ goals,
Cole Palmer ended Mykhailo Mudryk’s 10-game goalless streak in all competitions with a perfectly-weighted pass that he could run onto and finish coolly.
The home team answered in just eight minutes when Murillo broke free after a lunging run and was fouled, setting up a free kick that Morgan Gibbs-White clipped to Willy Boly, whose header was saved by Conor Gallagher.
After a fast start, the game’s tempo gradually decelerated, but there were still chances. Wood missed the mark after Petrović could not handle Danilo’s corner, and Palmer then put Nicolas Jackson through only for the striker to be stopped by Matz Sels.
Both sides made an effort to move forward, and when Moisss Caicedo discovered Palmer soon after, he was unusually wasteful.
Forest was still ahead, though, and Gibbs-White was incensed after his header struck the post. This was made worse when Wood’s follow-up went wide, and Thiago Silva met a similar end when his flicked header struck the woodwork as well.
It was equally unfortunate for Callum Hudson-Odoi when his attempt at curling bounced off the crossbar.
Relentless in his 100th Premier League game against his old team, the winger soon found the bottom corner with a similar finish.
But Raheem Sterling answered just as quickly, scoring his fourth goal against Forest in as many games.
After making his first appearance since December, Reece James created history by setting up Jackson for the game-winning header. This marked a stunning comeback for Chelsea, who now sit level with sixth-place Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Even though Forest is dangerously near safety, they have to wait for survival to be verified mathematically.