Graham Potter concedes Chelsea have 'long way to go' to finish in top four

Blues held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest to fall further off the pace in the Premier League

Serge Aurier celebrates after scoring for Nottingham Forest in their 1-1 Premier League draw with Chelsea at the City Ground on January 1, 2023. Getty

Forest defender Serge Aurier fires home to level the scores. PA

Chelsea attacker Raheem Sterling, left, celebrates with team-mates after scoring. PA

Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White hits the bar in the second half. Getty

Morgan Gibbs-White after nearly scoring for Forest. Reuters

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga attempts to gather the ball. Getty

Raheem Sterling puts Chelsea into an early lead. Reuters

Chelsea's Raheem Sterling celebrates after scoring. Reuters

Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga saves from Nottingham Forest's Brennan Johnson. Reuters

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang misses a chance for Chelsea. Getty

Graham Potter admitted Chelsea have a "long way to go" to fulfil their ambitions of finishing in the Premier League top four and guaranteeing Champions League football next season after a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Raheem Sterling's 16th-minute goal was cancelled out by Serge Aurier midway through the second half at the City Ground, and it was a thoroughly deserved point for Forest, who were the much more aggressive and dangerous team after the break.

The result is another setback for Chelsea, though, who put an end to a run of three straight league defeats by beating Bournemouth on their return from the World Cup break. The Blues lie eighth in the table, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.

And with the race for the top four more competitive than ever – Tottenham and Liverpool occupy fifth and sixth respectively, with high-flying Fulham in seventh – Potter conceded Chelsea have a battle on their hands to claim a coveted spot.

"It's always tough because you have a lot of big teams with lots of top players and coaches," the Blues manager said. "We need to focus on the next match but clearly we have a long way to go."

That next match is at home against champions Manchester City on Thursday night and will give Chelsea the opportunity to set aside their poor away form. The Blues have won just three of their nine Premier League games on the road and Potter was asked whether his team are struggling to perform in hostile atmospheres at away grounds.

"I don’t think it’s this team, it’s just generally. You have to credit Nottingham Forest because they’re here for the first time in a lot of years so they’re celebrating everything and rightly so. They used the crowd and we have to be able to deal with that," he said.

"I thought we stood up today and the effort was there. We played a draw against Brentford which isn’t an easy place to go, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace we won, Brighton wasn’t a good game for us at all, but that’s the Premier League for you. Away from home, teams don’t make it easy for you."

Nottingham Forest v Chelsea player ratings

NOTTINGHAM FOREST RATINGS: Dean Henderson - 6, Was completely rooted for the opener. Wasn’t given too much else to do. AP

Serge Aurier - 8, While he struggled in one-on-ones against Christian Pulisic at times, Aurier refused to back down. Clinically scored Forest’s equaliser, then put Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang under pressure as the striker missed his header. Getty

Joe Worrall - 7, Having been beaten by Pulisic in the build-up to the opener, he made a host of defensive interventions including heading a cross away ahead of Kalidou Koulibaly and stopping another cross from reaching Kai Havertz. PA

Willy Boly - 7, Unconvincingly flicked Pulisic’s cross onto his own crossbar, but then showed a willingness to defend on the front foot as he dispossessed Raheem Sterling high up the pitch. Headed the ball to Aurier for the equaliser. AP

Renan Lodi - 6, Stood and watched the ball for the opener, which meant he lost Sterling, although he went on to improve defensively and also made some dangerous forays forward. Booked for an overzealous challenge on Hakim Ziyech. Getty Images

Remo Freuler - 7, Was another combative member of Forest’s midfield, also showing intelligence to halt Sterling on the edge of the box. Also played a nice pass for Awoniyi. Reuters

Orel Mangala - 6, Did well to clean up a loose ball after Boly had cut out an attempted Chelsea pass, and he continued to break up the Blues’ play well. PA

Ryan Yates - 7, Needed to play the ball to Johnson earlier as Forest broke, but he hassled Chelsea’s midfielders throughout, even after getting booked for taking things too far as he grabbed hold of Denis Zakaria. Played a great pass to find Morgan Gibbs-White for his chance. PA

Morgan Gibbs-White - 7, Overhit his early pass after doing well to get away from Koulibaly. Was desperately unlucky to see his shot stay out after hitting the crossbar. Reuters

Taiwo Awoniyi - 7, Was almost unstoppable at times, with Koulibaly finding it especially difficult to deal with the forward once he got going. Did have a fairly tame shot saved in the second half. Reuters

Brennan Johnson - 6, Raced away brilliantly but couldn’t beat Kepa Arrizabalaga with two attempts, then in the second half he had a shot saved from a tight angle and another blocked. Had periods where he looked really bright. Getty

SUBS: Jack Colback (Mangala, 77’) – N/R, Showed plenty of energy in the middle to ensure Forest at least earned a point. AP

Sam Surridge (Johnson, 82’) – N/R, Battled to win the ball from Hakim Ziyech and forced Conor Gallagher into the foul that got the midfielder booked. AFP

Neco Williams (Awoniyi, 88’) – N/R, Cleaned up the danger after Aubameyang’s wayward pass went behind Havertz. Getty

CHELSEA RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga - 7, Made various good saves, especially the ones that denied Johnson, although he was given no chance by Aurier’s strike. Reuters

Cesar Azpilicueta - 5, Put in a good block to deny Gibbs-White in the first half, but often struggled in the second as he couldn’t keep up with Johnson as he ran behind then got booked for a foul on Lodi. Couldn’t get close enough to Aurier for the equaliser. Getty

Thiago Silva - 7, Showed his experience to deal with awkward situations, as he won a foul from Johnson, cut out Awoniyi’s cross and halted Gibbs-White’s burst forward. Some of his passes also made things awkward for Forest’s defence. Getty

Kalidou Koulibaly - 4, While he passed the ball nicely in the first half, Koulibaly really struggled whenever Awoniyi ran at him, especially whenever he was pulled out into wider positions. Getty

Marc Cucurella - 6, Did well to keep Johnson going wide to make his opportunity in the first half more difficult in a fairly solid defensive display. Getty

Jorginho - 6, Played some nice passes, including one to Sterling in the build-up to a chance for Mount. However, there were times where he was too easily taken out of the game. PA

Mason Mount - 7, Engaged in the combative side of the game and also showed quality at times, notably playing the ball through for Pulisic in the build-up to the opener. Made a great block to deny Morgan Gibbs-White. Getty

Denis Zakaria - 6, Put in a fairly dominant performance in midfield during the first half despite Yates making things difficult for him, although the Switzerland international faded in the second period. AP

Kai Havertz - 5, Linked play nicely at times but his touch was wasteful on two occasions where he could have had an opening. His unconvincing header was the first action in a poor defensive showing from Chelsea in Forest’s equaliser. AFP

Christian Pulisic - 6, Looked threatening in one-on-one situations and delivered the cross that resulted in Sterling’s goal. However, he hit a weak shot from a promising position and was outjumped by Boly for the equaliser. Getty

Raheem Sterling - 7, Having already played a nice pass to pick out Mount for an opportunity, he clinically finished to open the scoring. He never really built on that and faded out of the match before being taken off. Reuters

SUBS: Mateo Kovacic (Zakaria, 61’) – 5, Came on two minutes before Forest scored the equaliser and didn’t do much for the Blues' response. EPA

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Mount, 73’) – N/R, Tried to make things happen but missed the target with his header, then played a pass behind Havertz in the box. Reuters

Hakim Ziyech (Jorginho, 73’) – N/R, Always looked to make things happen and delivered a superb cross that Aubameyang headed wide. AFP

Conor Gallagher (Sterling, 73’) – N/R, Was always looking to get on the ball and played some nice passes forward, although he got booked for cynically bringing down Surridge. Getty

Carney Chukwuemeka (Pulisic, 87’) – N/R, Getting his first minutes since October, he wasn’t able to do enough to carve out a Chelsea winner. Getty

Chelsea are expected to be busy during the January transfer window after a summer which saw the club spend a record £252 million on new players amid plenty of upheaval, with new owners taking control and a host of players heading for the exit.

David Datro Fofana, the 20-year-old Ivorian striker, has been signed from Norwegian side Molde, while Monaco's French centre-back Benoit Badiashile and Brazilian teenager Andrey Santos, of Vasco da Gama, are expected to join the club imminently. Then there is the ongoing speculation that Chelsea are attempting to pull off a club-record deal for Benfica's World Cup-winning midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

However, Potter refused to be drawn into discussing transfers, saying: "It’s part of the season that we all have to deal with so I won’t complain about it. While the window is open, there’s noise and 24/7 media that has to be filled with something. It’s normal and it’s a part of modern-day football that we have to deal with."