Graham Potter described Chelsea's performance as "not good enough" after a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest – as Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink warned the Blues face Champions League misery.

Hasselbaink believes his former club are destined to miss out on a top-four finish after they slipped up at the City Ground on New Year's Day.

Chelsea won the Champions League only two seasons ago, and head coach Potter may find himself under pressure if they are not playing in Europe's premier club competition in the 2023-24 campaign.

The London club are eighth in the Premier League, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.

Ex-Blues striker Hasselbaink told Sky Sports: "I think they are too far from the top four. Yes, they do miss some really important players – [Reece] James, [N'Golo] Kante, [Ben] Chilwell – but they are defensive-orientated players.

"He [Potter] needs to win matches, he needs to win as many matches as possible. Chelsea need to be in the Champions League. That's not going to happen.

"He's had a lot of injuries and you need to give him time. You need to give him time to mould his team."

Potter saw Chelsea squander an early lead on Sunday, with Raheem Sterling's strike countered by a fine second-half reply from Serge Aurier.

Former Brighton and Hove Albion boss Potter described it as "a hard-earned point against a team that's set up well", and he praised the spirit in the Forest ranks that saw them raise the tempo after half-time.

But that may not wash with the Chelsea supporters who expect their team to be able to ride out such pressure against teams battling to avoid relegation.

Forest, who are 18th in the table, could easily have secured all three points, as they had the better chances in a lively game.

Chelsea have won just one of their last seven Premier League games, losing three and drawing three in that run.

"Our performance level wasn't good enough, I don't think, to take the three points," Potter said.

"When we had control of the game we didn't move the ball fast enough, there wasn't enough movement for us, and when we lost control of the game we struggled a bit."

Potter said it "would have been unfair" if Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had converted a late chance. As it happened, the striker failed to get his head on a cross from Hakim Ziyech.

The Chelsea boss said his side "didn't deserve to win the game with that", and he refused to discuss possible new signings, amid claims defender Benoit Badiashile is poised to sign from Monaco.

Asked about Champions League qualification, Potter said: "We've got a long way to go in terms of how we want the team to look and the performance level. It would be a mistake for us to worry about what can happen in five months' time.

"We need to focus on the next match and get our performance level better and more consistent."

The next match is a Premier League home game against reigning champions Manchester City on Thursday, and the game after that is another clash with City on Sunday in the FA Cup third round.

It gets no easier for Potter who said his team's midweek win against Bournemouth had been "a step forward".

"Today was a little bit of a backwards one," he added.

Antonio Conte believes Tottenham need to delve into the transfer market if they are to repeat their "miracle" top-four finish of last season.

Spurs finished the 2021-22 campaign strongly to pip rivals Arsenal to Champions League qualification, but their attempts to finish in the top four again this season have faltered.

A 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday, as well as a draw with Brentford on Boxing Day, means Spurs have lost ground on Manchester United, with the Red Devils making it three straight wins with victory over Wolves on Saturday to move into fourth.

Conte's side have been unfortunate with injuries, with key players such as Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison both spending time on the sidelines.

Former Chelsea and Inter boss Conte feels Spurs could do with signing players to build the depth of their squad and make them competitive at the top end of the Premier League.

"I continue to repeat that we made a miracle [finishing fourth last season]," he told reporters after goals from Emiliano Buendia and Douglas Luiz condemned his side to defeat.

"Because we played only one competition with 12, 13 players and they didn't have injuries in the last 15 games and we played only the best players. Arsenal were only four points up and we finished 20 points less than Manchester City. We did a miracle and I knew the situation.

"I was very clear with the club and in the summer people spoke about Tottenham as title contenders. From my experience it was a bit crazy to read this but you have to accept this. If you have these injuries it becomes difficult.

"To become title contenders you need a solid foundation, 14, 15 strong quality players and the young players to develop and every season you can add two players, two players to invest £60million, £70m players to improve the level of your team."

Despite the Villa defeat, Conte was pleased with his side's attitude and he is confident his team will bounce back when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Wednesday.

"About the performance, I'm not disappointed," Conte said. "From the start to the end I've seen the right commitment and desire and intensity.

"I was expecting this moment. Now we have to fight, strong, because the situation, we are there and in this league you can slip quickly.

"I'm not scared. I believe in my work and I believe in these players."

Serge Aurier stunned Chelsea with a clinical equaliser as Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest secured a 1-1 draw at the City Ground.

A frenetic New Year's Day game saw Raheem Sterling fire Chelsea into a 16th-minute lead, but Forest had several good chances and hit the crossbar before Aurier pulled them level just after the hour.

Chelsea had lost their last three games on their travels, so they at least avoided a fourth successive defeat away from Stamford Bridge.

However, the point leaves them seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United as head coach Graham Potter battles to put the Blues back in the hunt for a Champions League place.

The best early chance went to Forest in the 10th minute when Brennan Johnson ran in behind the Chelsea defence, forcing Kepa Arrizabalaga to make a sharp save before the goalkeeper gathered a half-hit follow-up attempt.

Yet Chelsea took the lead when Christian Pulisic's cross from the left was looped up against his own crossbar by defender Willy Boly, under pressure from Kai Havertz, with the ball bouncing out for Sterling to drive in from five yards.

Forest squandered another good opportunity early in the second half when Johnson elected to shoot from a narrowing angle rather than centre to an unmarked Taiwo Awoniyi, who was furious there was no pass.

They went even closer in the 55th minute when Morgan Gibbs-White sent an 18-yard drive crashing against the underside of the bar, but had their reward eight minutes later.

Former Tottenham right-back Aurier was an unlikely hero and his finish was excellent after a scramble on the edge of the six-yard box, controlling the ball with his chest when Boly headed to his fellow Ivorian before rifling powerfully past Kepa.

Substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a late chance to win it for Chelsea, who cannot afford to be dropping points against teams battling to avoid relegation.

Alisson warned Liverpool cannot make excuses for their below-par performance against Leicester City as they target an improvement at Brentford.

Two calamitous own goals from Wout Faes gifted the Reds a 2-1 victory over the Foxes at Anfield on Friday – their fourth consecutive win in the Premier League.

However, Jurgen Klopp's men were criticised for their display, having fallen behind to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's early goal and looked vulnerable at the back.

Liverpool have an opportunity to move ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham when they visit the Brentford Community Stadium on Monday, and Alisson goalkeeper knows they need to do better.

"The only thing we could take from Friday was the win and the effort we put on the pitch," the Brazil international told LFC TV.

"But there's a lot of space to improve. Looking at the performance, we have to do a lot better if the ambition is to keep achieving the goals that we have in front of us.

"We have high expectations and the supporters have high expectations about us. 

"Liverpool is a huge club which will always try to fight for titles and to be there at the top all the time. We have to do more, but we know that.

"We cannot rely on excuses. It was only the second game we have played after the World Cup. The players who had time off used that to prepare themselves. The ones who went to the World Cup could train and then rest to prepare for this moment.

"It's going to be a really important moment of the season now and we have to focus. We have to do better.

"Sometimes it's just a matter of mentality. It's not that easy to change it but we can do that for sure."

Liverpool have scored three or more goals in each of their past five meetings with the Bees.

The Reds have only scored three or more goals in six consecutive games against the same opponent once, versus Fulham between 1986 and 2000.

The Chelsea Pride fan group condemned homophobic chants that were heard during the first half of the Blues' Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Moments after Chelsea took the lead in Sunday's contest, a chant of "Chelsea rent boys" was audible in the ground and on Sky Sports' television coverage.

The chant was defined in January 2022 as a hate crime by the Crown Prosecution Service, with Chelsea welcoming that decision at the time.

It has not been eradicated, though, and remains a slur occasionally aimed at Chelsea players.

Chelsea Pride, which describes itself as the club's official LGBTQ+ and Friends Supporters Group, said such a chant was unacceptable.

The group said in a statement: "We totally condemn the Chelsea Rent Boy chant that can be heard at the city ground. Time to call this out the game is live on @SkySportsPL This is now classed as a hate crime."

The Pride In Football organisation backed that reaction by stating: "We are very disappointed to hear that *one day* into 2023 and there is homophobia being heard at a football game.

"If you hear someone around you being homophobic, call them out. We need to kick homophobia out of football. This is not okay!"

Forest fan group LGBTQ Trickies hit out at those responsible and called for police action.

They said in a response to Chelsea Pride: "From all genuine #NFFC fans, please accept our apologies, not only do we hope @NottPolFootball will do their best to take action, we would hope @NFFC release a statement condoning this and take necessary action.

"We are embarrassed and ashamed."

Antonio Conte acknowledged Tottenham's confidence was "killed" after again conceding the first goal in their 2-0 defeat by Aston Villa.

Spurs began 2023 with only a second loss in their last nine matches played on New Year's Day, as second-half goals from Emiliano Buendia and Douglas Luiz gave the visitors all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tottenham, who missed the chance to return to the top four, have now conceded the opening goal in each of their last seven Premier League matches, doing so for the first time since November 2010.

They have also now conceded at least twice in seven consecutive league matches for the first time since November 1988 (eight).

Conte was missing the likes of Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur for Sunday's visit of Villa, and the Italian feels the lacking of a creative spark was detrimental for his side.

"In the first half, we played with good intensity," he told BBC. "We didn't concede anything, and we found a team that defended too deep. Then, we conceded this goal and then the confidence dropped for my players.

"We have to know that our life is this. We have to fight every game for one point or for three points. This is the truth, especially when you are without two or three important players and have difficulties.

"We have different characteristics. We don't have many players who are really good at beating the man. We don't have many creative players in our team. For sure, today was really difficult to find space in the first half.

"I'm sure that if we don't concede the goal, we could win the game instead. The goal that we conceded killed us in confidence and in many situations for sure. You have to try and improve and develop these players to be even stronger.

"We have conceded the first goal, and we try to play to score goals. We understand very well that the league will be really difficult for us.

"We have to try to recover all the [injured] players, and then we have to know that in every game, we have to fight and show that we are strong."

Tottenham return to action on Wednesday with a trip to London rivals Crystal Palace.

Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is "past his sell-by date", with Graeme Souness indicating he was at fault for their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday.

Antonio Conte's side made a losing start to 2023 as goals from Emi Buendia and Douglas Luiz ensured victory for Unai Emery's visitors in North London.

Lloris endured a horror-show performance between the posts, spilling a ball to allow Villa's opener before he was beaten at close-range for their second.

His errors have now resulted in four Premier League goals since the start of last season, with three alone this term, and Souness feels he is now a liability.

"I am not a big fan of Hugo Lloris," the former Liverpool midfielder told Sky Sports in his capacity as a pundit. "I've said it for a long time.

"He's made four errors leading to goals since the start of last season, the most of any keeper in the league. For me, he is past his sell-by date."

The latest lacklustre performance from Spurs means they have conceded at least twice in seven consecutive league games for the first time since 1988.

Their goalkeeper's struggles, around a World Cup campaign where he led France to a second successive final, have not helped Conte and his team this term.

He has conceded 3.7 more goals than his Expected Goals faced this season, with only Southampton's Gavin Bazunu (7.9) and Bournemouth's Mark Travers (6.2) faring worse  in that regard.

Overall, Tottenham have conceded five goals from their own mistakes as a team this term, two more than any other Premier League side.

Manchester City are not worried about the Premier League title race despite losing ground on Arsenal, so says Manuel Akanji.

Pep Guardiola's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, after Erling Haaland's finish was cancelled out by Demarai Gray's superb strike.

With Mikel Arteta's Arsenal claiming a victory against Brighton and Hove Albion it means the gap is now seven points to the summit for reigning champions City.

Akanji, though, is not concerned, with City having not yet faced their title rivals.

"It's the midway point of the season," he told City's official website. "Of course, Arsenal are in first but in the end, there are lots of games to play.

"We have to play them twice. We'll keep the pressure up and try to win our next game and keep on going. There's still a long way to go."

Not for the first time, City saw their firepower neutralised by cracks in their defensive line, with Gray's goal the only shot on target Everton mustered.

That their domination on the ball was undone by a lapse at the back is not lost on Akanji, who believes they must bank clean sheets to stay in the mix.

"We had enough chances, and we've got to keep the clean sheet in a game like this," he added. "We can't give the opponent the opportunity to score.

"It's something we have to [do] better in the next game. One point is not enough out of these 90 minutes.

"We tried to dominate the game. I think we did it pretty well and had enough opportunities to score a goal. In the end, we have to manage to keep the clean sheet.

"There's going to be some tough games where the opponent is defending well, and we've got to do a better job. We have to be more focused

"If we can do that, we might be better the next time. It's something we have to improve."

Emiliano Buendia and Douglas Luiz condemned Tottenham to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa in their opening match of 2023.

Antonio Conte's side missed the chance to return to the top four as their opponents ended a run of five successive Premier League defeats in London.

Villa, who also claimed a first clean sheet in the English capital in 14 attempts, struck twice after the break at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with neat finishes from Buendia and Douglas Luiz.

Tottenham remain fifth in the table after suffering only a second loss from their last nine matches played on New Year’s Day.

The visitors enjoyed most of the possession during the early stages of the first half.

A swift counter culminated in Ollie Watkins drilling a low 20-yard effort narrowly wide of the near post, while an important Boubacar Kamara block denied Matt Doherty at the other end after the Tottenham full-back’s strong run into the box.

Villa then had Ashley Young to thank five minutes before the break, the full-back showing brilliant reflexes to clear Harry Kane’s goalbound header off the line.

But the visitors snatched the lead within five minutes of the restart. Watkins reacted quickly after Hugo Lloris spilled Douglas Luiz's fierce long-range effort, the England striker teeing up Buendia to slot home.

The roles almost reversed in the 62nd minute when Buendia's neat through-ball found Watkins, who was blocked by the recovering Doherty.

Villa did grab the second goal to seal the points 17 minutes from time, Douglas Luiz latching onto John McGinn's precise pass before neatly beating Lloris from close range.

In-form striker Ivan Toney could be fit for Brentford's first Premier League game of the year against Liverpool on Monday.

There were fears Toney may be facing a lengthy absence after he suffered a knee injury in Friday's 2-0 London derby win at West Ham.

Toney was carted off at the London Stadium, but Bees head coach Thomas Frank revealed on New Year's Day that his leading goalscorer might be available for the visit of the Reds.

The Dane said: "It's good news with Ivan, it's not a significant injury.

"He could potentially be available for tomorrow. There's nothing wrong with his knee. Without going too much into the details, it's something with the muscle.

"The physios explained the details and I completely forgot! I'm just glad it isn’t serious."

Only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane have scored more than Toney's tally of 12 top-flight goals this season.

The former Newcastle frontman, Manchester City striker Haaland and Tottenham talisman Kane were the only three players to find the back of the net at least 20 times in the Premier League in 2022.

Toney has scored in both of Brentford's games since the break for the World Cup and has five goals in his past four appearances.

The Football Association last month charged Toney with 30 further breaches of the governing body's betting rules, taking his number of alleged violations to 262. 

Romelu Lukaku declared "I've always had Inter in my heart" as he outlined his plans to extend his stay in Serie A beyond this season.

Lukaku returned to Inter in a season-long loan deal last June, having scored just eight Premier League goals last campaign following his £97.5million move to the Blues.

The Belgium striker has spent most of this season on the sidelines after sustaining a thigh injury in August, while he failed to start a game at the World Cup after returning midway through his country's ill-fated group-stage campaign.

Despite enduring a frustrating second spell at San Siro, Lukaku is eager to make his Inter reunion permanent after being welcomed back by the Nerazzurri's supporters.

"Inter fans are truly special; for me they're the best I've met. Even if we are in trouble, they are always there to help the team," Lukaku told Sky Sport.

"I thought they were still angry with me, but they know I've always had Inter in my heart, even if I left. 

"I had a few conversations with my team-mates; I told them the truth about why I left and why I came back. 

"I hope to stay in the future too. For me, Inter means everything. Now I have to do everything necessary, together with the team, for Inter to win. Then we'll see."

Inter will resume their Serie A campaign with a huge game against Scudetto favourites Napoli on Wednesday, with Simone Inzaghi's fifth-place side sitting 11 points adrift of the runaway leaders.

Despite Napoli's sizeable lead at the summit, Lukaku is adamant Inter remain in contention to repeat their 2020-21 Scudetto triumph.

"As long as a team hasn't lifted the trophy, anything is possible," Lukaku said. "That's the thing, anything is possible in football. 

"Do I believe it? You have to believe in the impossible. People say it's impossible for us, let's see at the end of the season. 

"Now, no one has raised it, we are still there and there are six months left. The championship ends on June 6, we are not yet on January 4!"

Martin Dubravka's loan spell with Manchester United has been cut short by Premier League rivals Newcastle United.

The Slovakia international made the move to Old Trafford in September to join Tom Heaton in providing competition for first-choice goalkeeper David de Gea.

Dubravka made just two appearances for United, both coming in EFL Cup in victories over Aston Villa and more recently Burnley.

He has not featured on the substitutes' bench for United in their past two Premier League games and has now been recalled by Newcastle.

Both clubs confirmed the news on their official websites on Sunday, as the transfer window officially opened.

Dubravka is now expected to provide back-up to Nick Pope at high-flying Newcastle, who are two points better off than United having played a game more.

He has made 130 appearances for Newcastle since joining from Sparta Prague in January 2018 and was voted the club's Player of the Year in the 2019-20 campaign.

Erik ten Hag has been taking charge of Manchester United Under-21s in a bid to ease young players' pathway to the first team.

Ten Hag was renowned for developing young players in his previous role at Ajax, and the Dutchman has looked to replicate that in his first season at Old Trafford.

Alejandro Garnacho has enjoyed a breakthrough into the first team, while Kobbie Mainoo and Zidane Iqbal have been named on the bench over the festive period.

Ten Hag – who coached Bayern Munich's second team earlier in his career – believes United's under-21 side was neglected before he took charge at the end of last season.

"For me, cooperation between all the different departments is crucial to get the right culture in a club," Ten Hag said.

"Like at Ajax, when I entered Manchester United, the reserve team was isolated.

"It was no longer really part of the academy, but it wasn't part of the first team either. I changed that immediately, just as I did when I entered Amsterdam.

"At Ajax, the reserve team came under the responsibility of the manager. That was the only way I could have influence on the flow of young, talented players towards the first team.

"Of course, I still give the coaches freedom to work, but I also give them direction, by saying for example, 'I want that player to start playing minutes in that position'.

"So the final responsibility lies with me about how the second team performs and the flow of players that goes from the reserve team to the first team."

Ten Hag explained the quality of his coaching staff – including assistant Mitchell van der Gaag – allowed him to take a back seat in many training sessions and focus on United's overall approach.

"I talked to [director of football] John Murtough about this at length before I came to Manchester, and he set it up in such a way that I can work this way here too," he said.

"In the Netherlands, I made the step towards taking more of a managerial role at Ajax. If you don't have competent people around you, you can't delegate and you're going to do it all yourself anyway. 

"But if you do have competent people, you have to bring them into your vision and then you can delegate tasks. An example is the training process with the senior team. 

"I know this is in good hands with Mitchell. I can often take an overview view. Then, as a manager, you see a lot more than if you are working on the training exercises yourself."

Casemiro is tipping Marcus Rashford to become of the top five players in world football and admitted he was surprised by how good his Manchester United team-mate is.

Rashford was benched for United's trip to Wolves on New Year's Eve after oversleeping and missing a team meeting.

But the England forward came off the bench to score the winner in a 1-0 victory to continue his hot streak, which has seen him score three times since returning from World Cup duty.

Rashford has 11 goals in all competitions this season and Casemiro has been impressed by what he has seen since arriving in a big-money move from Real Madrid in August.

"I'm going to be very honest with you, I was really surprised by the player that Rashford is," said Casemiro.

"In my opinion, especially knowing the player off the pitch, if he does well he can be one of the five best players in the world."

United's victory meant they started 2023 in the Premier League's top four. Tottenham can go back ahead of the Red Devils by beating Aston Villa on Sunday, albeit Antonio Conte's side will have played a game more.

Erik ten Hag's men are next in action at home to Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal "can go all the way" to lifting the Premier League title after taking a seven-point lead at the top.

The Gunners romped to a 4-2 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion, while closest challengers Manchester City slipped up at home to struggling Everton earlier on Saturday, sending Mikel Arteta's men into 2023 with a hefty advantage.

Arsenal have not won the Premier League since the 2003-04 'Invincibles' season, with Wenger in charge, but their strong start to the campaign has fans believing the title may be a possibility.

Wenger feels the Gunners are more than capable of maintaining their title push, telling TV2: "It was a fantastic performance [against Brighton]. Arsenal are getting stronger and stronger.

"It was a one-way street. I think they have all the necessary ingredients, both tactically and mentally.

"They can go all the way. Because, as you can see, they create so many chances. I don't really see any weaknesses."

Martin Odegaard got a goal and assist in the victory at the Amex Stadium, and Wenger was impressed with the Norway international's performance

"He makes decisions quickly, and always optimally. It is remarkable," Wenger said.

"I like him and the way he makes football look so easy. He has developed very well. It's really amazing. His decisions, he is also a leader in the team."

Bukayo Saka set the ball rolling for Arsenal with a goal after just two minutes, and the winger said City's draw earlier on motivated them to ensure they got the job done at Brighton.

"We just try and focus on ourselves," Saka told BBC Sport. "But when we heard about [City's 1-1 draw] it gave us extra motivation to try and press on and get a result."