FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE - Chelsea's subpar season continued on Saturday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by struggling Nottingham Forest.
The Blues are almost guaranteed to finish in the Premier League's bottom half having once again failed to win at home under Frank Lampard.
Taiwo Awoniyi headed Forest into an early lead when he beat the hapless Edouard Mendy to a teasing Renan Lodi cross.
While Chelsea limped through the rest of the first half, they managed to pick themselves off the canvas after the interval. Raheem Sterling tapped in a cutback from Trevoh Chalobah to bring the west Londoners level, before finding the top corner with a curling strike soon after.
But they were pegged back again by Awoniyi only four minutes after going in front, sneaking in at the back post to head home a clever ball over the top from Orel Mangala.
Here were Chelsea's best and worst players on the day.
Chelsea's best player vs Nottingham Forest
Raheem Sterling: 9/10
If you'd told me at half-time that Sterling would end the match as Chelsea's player of the day, I'd have thought they were going to lose 5-0.
The ex-Manchester City star walked around Stamford Bridge without his trademark eagerness or line-breaking acceleration. It looked as if he had checked out completely.
But to his credit, Sterling led from the front in the second half. He dragged Chelsea back into the contest with the equaliser - a tap-in from standing in the right place at the right time, of course - before really rolling back the years with a stunning strike from distance.
Sterling couldn't quite drag his team to three points but it wasn't for the want of trying, dropping deep and racing away from the chasing Forest pack just to get the ball upfield late on.
Honourable mention
Trevoh Chalobah: 7/10
While Sterling steered Chelsea's attacks from the left, Trevoh Chalobah was often the man making the difference on the right.
The versatile defender frequently found himself in the final third, stretching play and bouncing the ball between himself and winger Noni Madueke.
He crucially provided a tangible impact in both boxes, making goal-saving blocks at one end and teeing up Sterling in the other.
Chelsea's worst player vs Nottingham Forest
Edouard Mendy: 3/10
On a rare chance to impress in place of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Edouard Mendy found himself in a similar position of infamy.
Only a quarter of an hour into his first Chelsea game since November, he flapped at a cross and cost his side dearly. Lodi's delivery was towards the penalty spot and did not require the Senegalese stopper to try and claim it. If he had been on his line, the attempt would have been saveable.
He didn't have a lot to do for the rest of the afternoon besides picking the ball out of his own net when Awoniyi grabbed his second. Eesh.
Dishonourable mention
Thiago Silva: 4/10
The veteran defender has been linked with a move back to Brazil in recent weeks, and fans sought to honour him pre-match with the unfurling of two large banners at either end of Stamford Bridge.
However, this is not a day that Thiago Silva will want to remember. For the 80 minutes that the Nigerian was on the pitch, Awoniyi won pretty much every duel, getting tight to the Brazilian in order to roll off and around him.
Silva's only saving grace is that the younger and stronger Benoit Badiashile wasn't too effective in his own battles with Awoniyi.
This article was originally published on 90min as Chelsea's best and worst players in Nottingham Forest draw.
