Raheem Sterling’s double earns Chelsea draw against Nottingham Forest
Raheem Sterling rediscovered his scoring touch as he netted both of Chelsea’s goals in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge that could prove vital for relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. Home fans had booed their team off at the break, trailing to a Taiwo Awoniyi goal for Steve Cooper’s side and looking no nearer in the first half to finding a solution to the lack of firepower that has derailed their season. Then, in the space of seven second-half minutes, Sterling transformed the match. First a deflected shot bounced up into the corner after he was set up by Trevoh Chalobah, then he let rip with a brilliant solo goal that evoked the England forward at his electric best. Yet instead of pressing on, Chelsea folded. Non-existent marking left Awoniyi free to head home and extinguish the lead four minutes later. It ensured Forest stayed three points clear in their bid to beat the drop, and meant Frank Lampard’s long wait for a victory at this ground on his return as boss will go to the season’s final game. Forest nearly stunned the hosts inside four minutes. Renan Lodi’s corner was whipped to the near post where Felipe met it with a firm header that flashed wide. They took the lead soon after and it was Lodi again the provider, though Edouard Mendy – returning in goal for Chelsea – was badly at fault. The ball into the penalty spot did not look unduly threatening, but as the keeper raced from his goal Awoniyi climbed above two defenders to get to it first and head into an unguarded net. It seemed to shake Chelsea to life, and they went close to levelling immediately when Sterling’s effort was blocked by the recovering Joe Worrall. Noni Madueke, increasingly influential in recent games despite the team’s indifferent form, showed excellent balance and feet on the right whenever he got on the ball, bursting through Forest with speed and skill. On the other flank, Lewis Hall nominally at left-back showed barrels of attacking intent when Chelsea were in possession. He got forward after 30 minutes and, after making space with a clever shimmy, crossed for Joao Felix to dive into a header that was brilliantly held on the stretch by Keylor Navas. Moussa Niakhate was an inch away from making it two for Forest in the first moments of the second half, he stretched out a leg to meet a flicked-on corner at the back post but could not make the contact required. Chelsea did not need another warning. The equaliser arrived on 51 minutes, and Sterling owed his goal to good link-up play between Madueke and Chalobah. The pair worked their way in behind Forest and into a channel down the right, giving Chalobah the time and space to pick out a pass which Sterling swept home first time via a deflection off the stricken Ryan Yates. Chelsea looked to ride the wave of noise that the goal had drawn from Stamford Bridge. Felix tried to catch out Navas with a driven effort from range that dropped onto the roof of the net, then Sterling took the roof off the stadium with his and Chelsea’s second. There seemed to be little on when the ball was worked to him 12 yards out on a wide angle, but in a deft movement he took it under control, opened his body and shot perfectly beyond the dive of Navas. It was Sterling at his long-forgotten best. It should have been a catalyst to drive Chelsea on to a rare home win. Instead, it invited a meekly predictable implosion. Orel Mangala’s cross into the centre of the box for Forest was an inviting one, and no one in blue had gone with Awoniyi who stunned home fans into silence with a firmly planted header. Chelsea’s frustration started to show. Felix was booked for simulation, and attacks began to break down before the final third. Still Forest carried a threat, Lodi hit a bending drive that swung outwards and fractionally past the post. Sterling had a chance to complete his hat-trick, racing forward to get on the end of Hakim Ziyech’s searching ball but lifting his header up and over the bar as he arrived. There were few chances for either side after that, as Forest claimed a point that could prove of incalculable value. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Aston Villa turn up heat on European rivals Tottenham with vital win Alejandro Garnacho returns to put seal on Manchester United win over Wolves Southampton’s relegation confirmed after Aleksandar Mitrovic-inspired Fulham win
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Harry Kane in Germany for Bayern Munich medical ahead of move from Tottenham
Harry Kane is in Germany to seal his move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million. Tottenham’s record goalscorer landed in Munich on Friday night for a medical ahead of his transfer to the Bundesliga giants. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou had revealed earlier in the day that the move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night. It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands. Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and hours later he set off for Munich via a private jet from London Stansted airport. Postecoglou, speaking before Spurs’ trip to Brentford on Sunday, said: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow-by-blow account, but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen. “From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry. “From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but, like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway. “But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it without Harry. “It is best Harry speaks for himself in terms of the decision, but no doubt he is one of the greats of this football club and that never changes. “I am only new in the building, but (it is) fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.” It remains to be seen whether the deal will be done in time for Kane to play any part in Bayern’s DFB Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night. However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, the England captain could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off. Bayern saw bids for Kane, who is in the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs, reportedly turned down in June and July but they made their intentions clear, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about the player’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions. A third bid was submitted last Friday and Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday. With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team. But Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after taking his time to weigh up the decision, Kane decided to end his 19-year stay at Spurs. It means his pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record will be put on hold, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260. However, the move will almost guarantee him the first major trophies of his career, as well as giving him a shot at Champions League glory. Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has been a long-term admirer of Kane but was coy when asked about the forward ahead of Saturday’s match with Leipzig. Tuchel told a press conference: “We are working with full pressure on this deal. “I understand there are a lot of ifs and whens. All options are open. The first is to have him as a player and at the moment he is not yet that. “This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.”
2023-08-12 11:46
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