Chelsea enjoyed lots of possession and attacks in the opening period but went behind early in the second half when Chris Wood toe-poked the visitors in front.

Noni Madueke equalised soon after and both sides created several opportunities to win it after that but despite Forest going down to ten men when James Ward-Prowse was sent off with 12 minutes or normal time remaining, the Blues were unable to find the winner.

Eleven changes

Chelsea made 11 changes to their starting XI from Thursday night's 4-2 win in the Conference League, with Enzo Maresca selecting the same side which beat Brighton & Hove Albion by the same scoreline last weekend.

Forest lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and you could see the Blues were pushing full-backs Malo Gusto and Marc Cucurella forward early on, meaning Chelsea were in a 2-3-4-1 when in possession initially.

This helped the Blues dominate in the early stages and it was Madueke who had the game's first opportunity when he dribbled inside his full-back and dragged a left-footed shot past the near post from ten yards out.

Academy graduate Callum Hudson-Odoi crossed for Ryan Yates to head goalwards, with Robert Sanchez making a routine stop, as Forest grew into the match, although Madueke did send another shot over the bar from a tight angle soon after.

Blues on top

Chelsea controlled two-thirds of possession in the first half and Malo Gusto had a goal-bound shot blocked, and Madueke had another wayward effort after cutting in from the wing, as the Blues continued to carry a threat down the right flank.

Gusto was regularly in the Forest third as the Blues attacked with numbers and the Frenchman sent a 20-yard shot over the bar following good play by Jadon Sancho.

Forest's side is full of quality though and when centre-back Murillo slid in to win the ball back in Chelsea's half, the Brazilian charged forward and struck a powerful 20-yard drive which Sanchez had to parry away.

Madueke continued to be the game's biggest threat and after another drive down the right, he crossed and Fernandez had a shot saved.

The game went into the break goalless but that was only after two moments of outstanding defending at either end of the pitch.

First, Madueke won the ball back deep in Forest's half and drove into the box to pull it back to Palmer. The England international looked set to add another goal to his tally but Chelsea academy graduate Ola Aina just got across to get a touch on the ball. The danger still wasn't over though, as the ball went past goalkeeper Matz Sels and rebounded off the post, rolled across the goalline and was just collected in time by the Belgian, with technology confirming the ball hadn't crossed the line.

Forest immediately went up the other end and when the ball was cut back to Yates, he seemed certain to score too but his goal-bound effort was expertly blocked by the diving Levi Colwill.

The attacking continued into first-half injury time and some fine interplay by Madueke and Gusto saw Palmer have another dangerous shot blocked.

Forest took the lead early in the second half though, when a deep free-kick was headed into the box by Nicola Milenkovic and Wood slid in to toe-poke into the bottom, far corner for 1-0.

Elliot Anderson had a shot saved soon after but eight minutes after the opener, Chelsea equalised when Madueke's perseverance down the right finally paid off as the England winger cut inside on his left foot and sent a low left-footed shot into the far bottom corner.

He could have had two when a dangerous Chelsea counter-attack saw Sancho pick out the unmarked Madueke but his first-time shot from 12 yards went over the bar.

Chelsea were on the ascendency at this point and Nicolas Jackson got in behind the Forest defence when he won the ball off Murillo 30 yards from goal but the striker opted to pass to a team-mate instead of shooting and the danger was eventually cleared.

The pressure continued and Gusto's dangerous cross from the right had to be headed over his own goal by Murillo.

Red card

Forest's hopes of victory were dented with 12 minutes of normal time remaining when a Ward-Prowse slip allowed Jackson the chance to intercept just inside the visitors' half but the midfielder grabbed the ball with his hands to stop the dangerous attack, resulting in a deserved second yellow card.

A lengthy break in play midway through the half when Morgan Gibbs-White was injured and Selz being down for a spell contributed to 13 minutes of injury-time being shown on the fourth official's board, resulting in a roar from the Stamford Bridge faithful.

Maresca had introduced all of his attacking options as he went in search of the winner. Two of them combined when Pedro Neto picked out Joao Felix but his powerful downward header went just wide.

Forest could have snatched an unlikely winner themselves when Neco Williams found himself clear to shoot ten yards out but Sanchez pulled off a fine save.

Another replacement, Mykhailo Mudryk, then went on the charge and dribbled the whole length of the pitch before picking out Christopher Nkunku with a cross but once again, a fine save from the goalkeeper, this time Selz, kept the score at 1-1.

The resulting corner saw Gusto have a 20-yard shot pushed over the bar and then Palmer curled another long-range effort just wide of the far top corner.

Forest were not done though and Williams had a powerful half-volley saved by Sanchez in the tenth minute of injury-time and it was the visitors who piled on the pressure in the final minutes, as Murillo had a free-kick blocked and the resulting corner saw Jota head towards the bottom corner but Sanchez produced another exceptional save to ensure the points were shared.

What it means

Chelsea's 1-1 with Forest - and Aston Villa's goalless draw with Manchester United - means the Blues remain fourth in the table and move within four points of league leaders Liverpool and three point below Manchester City and Arsenal in second and third respectively, with all three winning yesterday.

What's next

Like the whole of the Premier League, Chelsea now have a two-week break due to the international window. We will return to action away to Liverpool on Sunday 20 October, with kick-off at 4.30pm and the match being shown live on Sky Sports.

The teams

Chelsea: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill (Tosin 90+3), Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez (Joao Felix 81); Madueke (Neto 90), Palmer, Sancho (Mudryk 90); Jackson (Nkunku 81)
Substitutes not used: Jorgensen, Disasi, Veiga, Lavia
Bookings: Caicedo 21, Palmer 75, Cucurella 89, Colwill 89, Neto 90+8, Fofana 90+12
Goals: Madueke 57

Nottingham Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno (Williams 82); Yates (c), Ward-Prowse; Anderson (Jota Silva 66), Gibbs-White (Domínguez 76), Hudson-Odoi (Morato 82); Wood (Elanga 82)
Substitutes not used: Carlos Miguel, Boly, Awoniyi, Sosa
Bookings: Ward-Prowse 36, 78, Williams 89, Selz 90+5
Red card: Ward-Prowse 78
Goals: Wood 49

Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Attendance: 39,501