Graham Potter said that his team's performance in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest was "concerning," and that Chelsea "wasn't good enough" to defeat them. Chelsea defeated AFC Bournemouth 2-0 in their first league match following the World Cup break at Stamford Bridge. New Year's Day's match at Nottm Forest was anticipated to be more difficult because Steve Cooper's team had gone five games unbeaten at home in all competitions.
Over the course of the entire 90 minutes versus Chelsea, Forest was arguably the superior team, but against the flow of play, they fell behind after 16 minutes. It was an odd goal since Willy Boly tried to clear the ball, but it looped over Dean Henderson and hit the crossbar. Raheem Sterling received the ball well, and he slammed it home from close range to score it 1-0.