Nottingham Forest took a massive step towards Premier League safety after beating Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Vitor Pereira made eight changes from the team that started the 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the Europa League on Thursday night, with Forest prioritising this week’s second leg, despite their precarious position. Despite that, Forest produced a ruthless performance at Stamford Bridge to move six points clear of the drop zone.
Taiwo Awoniyi marked his 100th appearance for Forest with a brace, heading in an opener inside two minutes from Dilane Bakwa’s cross. After Enzo Fernandez hit the woodwork for Chelsea, Igor Jesus doubled the lead for the visitors just 13 minutes later, converting from the spot after Malo Gusto was penalised for a pull in the penalty box.
The first-half concluded with an anxious mood around the stadium, after a nasty clash of heads between Forest teenager Zach Abbott and Chelsea debutant Jesse Derry. While the former, who conceded a penalty in the action, was ok to carry on, there was concern for Derry who needed lengthy treatment and was stretchered off.
Cole Palmer took the resulting spot-kick but saw his effort saved by Matz Sels, as Chelsea’s disastrous afternoon continued.
Forest made the result safe just seven minutes into the second half, when Awoniyi got his second. The Nigerian tapped in a simple finish after substitutes Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White combined in the build-up.
Joao Pedro’s spectacular overhead kick late on was brilliant, but little consolation for Chelsea. Though, it was a first Premier League goal in almost two months for the Blues, who have now lost six straight games.
The win extends Forest’s winning run to four games and stretches their unbeaten run to 10 across all competitions. The only sour note was an injury to Gibbs-White, casting doubt on his involvement in midweek. However, with Premier League status almost assured for another season, attention now turns to that massive clash against Aston Villa on Thursday night.
