Nicolas Jackson wins thriller to rain Chelsea down at Nottingham Forest parade | first division

A deduction of points, the owner leaves the stands to protest to the referee, that publish in X and even a cameo from Gladiators' own Mark Clattenburg. Nottingham Forest are the most entertaining show in town and they will almost certainly be back for another exciting season hosted by the Premier League.

Needing just a point to confirm their top-flight status, Forest were set to win all three until Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson turned the tide of the match in Chelsea's favor to claim a third successive victory, although that did little to cool the the spirits on the banks of the Trento.

defeats for Burnley and London It turned what had been a nervous afternoon into a carnival. Forest fans crowded in front of televisions on the concourses of the City Ground, celebrating the victories of Tottenham and West Ham, knowing that only a ridiculous change in goal difference would lead to the hosts' relegation. When the final results were read during warm-ups, the noise indicated their importance.

It was a party in the stands, even with the momentary show of disgust towards the first division anthem, and the crowd knows they will be able to boo it for at least one more year. If Chris Wood had successfully lofted Djordje Petrovic in the second minute of the match when he was close to goal, the City Ground could have gone from a party to a full-blown festival, but the goalkeeper managed to shoot.

Forest had business to attend to on the field. They appeared to be the smarter of the two teams in the early stages, but that counted for nothing as Chelsea showed their quality in the eighth minute when Cole Palmer threaded a pass between the full-back and the centre-back for Mykhailo Mudryk to grab. . The Ukrainian has been much maligned since he arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk, but he was clever with his run and calm with his shot over Matz Sels into the corner.

The cacophony continued and grew louder when Willy Boly headed in the equaliser. Centre-back Murillo, one of Forest's best signings since their promotion, created an individual counter-attack from a Chelsea corner, leading a 60-yard charge up the pitch before being brought down by Benoît Badiashile. Morgan Gibbs-White took the free kick to the back post where Boly was waiting and saw the ball deflect off Conor Gallagher into the net. There was a long VAR check for offside, but there was no respite for Chelsea.

Palmer was central to everything Chelsea did, exuding the confidence of a man who was considered the best player in the league last month. Every pass was perfectly weighted and he saw opportunities others couldn't.

As at the start of the match, Forest had more energy in their game at the start of the second half, winning 50-50 challenges and creating more dangerous openings. Forest captain Ryan Yates scored his first Premier League goal against Sheffield United last week and almost doubled his tally when he flicked his left boot towards the ball just outside the area, only to see it bounce back. on the outside of a pole.

Forest were dangerous on both flanks, causing Callum Hudson-Odoi to deliver a cross to the back post for Gibbs-White to attack, but saw his header hit the post from close range, followed by Chris Wood flicking the rebound into the stands.

Mauricio Pochettino recognized that his team was not competing on the full court and turned to Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku to provide greater athleticism. He almost made the difference when full-back Gusto beat the Forest defense on the right and eventually won a free-kick. Palmer crossed the ball from a set piece, but Thiago Silva's shot hit the post instead of the net.

Hudson-Odoi, with something to prove to Chelsea, made one of his trademark runs down the left flank before firing a shot past the goalkeeper. There was no risk of a polite non-celebration, Hudson-Odoi licked it in the corner, thinking the job was done.

Sterling copied the trick to level matters soon after and then Reece James, returning after five months out, crossed for Jackson to complete the change.

Some are hoping for a quieter third season in the Premier League, others are not.