Nottingham Forest 0-3 Chelsea: Goals from Josh Achiampong, Pedro Neto and Reece James mean another loss for manager Ange Postecoglou, putting pressure on his position as manager.
Chelsea have inflicted further pain on Ange Postecoglou as his future as Nottingham Forest manager hangs in the balance. The Blues ran away with a subpar first half and ran out 3-0 winners in Saturday’s early kickoff.
Enzo Maresca, who was sitting in the stands after serving a suspension for touching the line, made three substitutions at half-time, one of whom, Pedro Neto, almost single-handedly saved the day. His cross set up Josh Achiampong and three minutes later the Portuguese converted a free-kick.
Forest had a number of chances to score before and after Chelsea’s quick-fire double, but the ball never reached their opponents and Reece James’ goal in the 85th minute ended the game for them, leading to a number of red cards. Postecoglou, who was given international leave to find a winning formula, is unsure of his fate amid reports that Sean Dyche is a candidate.
Here are five stories from City Ground.
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1. Absence of Double Enzo
When news of the team broke, Chelsea fans were left with the most important question: “Where is Enzo Fernandes?”
The midfielder missed Argentina’s second leg during the international break and his absence was particularly felt as Moises Caicedo was well enough to be on the bench. “It’s not a big concern,” Enzo Maresca told TNT Sports before kick-off. “He is out due to injury. We hope he will be back soon.”
But there was another Enzo who wasn’t where he was supposed to be at the start of the match. Maresca was given a one-match touchline ban for his wild celebrations in the last game against Liverpool.
2. Missed chances in the first half
There were a lot of things that bothered me in the first half. End-to-end football, a little excitement and a lively crowd. However, what wasn’t so great was the finishing of both teams.
Taiwo Awoniyi missed a golden chance within two minutes of Maro Gusto giving him the chance. It was then Elliot Anderson’s turn to take the lead, but the England international hesitated and Reece James returned to make a crucial interception.
Morgan Gibbs-White had two chances within 60 seconds and Chelsea continued to concede the ball. The Blues made three errors that led to shots in just 20 minutes and looked shaky defensively.
But Chelsea also had their chances. Most notably, Andrei Santos fired a shot wide of the post after a fine shot from Joao Pedro. Forest goalkeeper Mats Sells also made two saves to deny Maresca’s side an early goal, ensuring both teams were level at half-time.
3. Maresca’s triple change makes an immediate impact
A triple sub at halftime is the biggest red flag in soccer. Maresca scored at half-time and connected with Santos, Romeo Rabia and Alejandro Garnacho just 45 minutes later. Caicedo, Jamie Gittens and Pedro Neto appeared.
Manager Postecoglou also made a change, bringing on Awoniyi in place of Igor Jesus, who was looking to score his first goal in a Forest shirt. However, the first attack of the afternoon went Chelsea’s way.
Neto, who was almost making his debut, was given too much space to drive down the left and curled a defiant cross past the outstretched feet of Neco Williams. Josh Achiampong scored his first goal as a senior in the final minutes of the game, making Coach Postecoglou shake his head.
4. I don’t do Netouyo there.
A goal and an assist within 7 minutes of playing? It’s not bad. Chelsea won a free kick 20 yards from goal and Neto stepped up and produced a great shot, staying low and smashing it inside the Forest wall.
The Cells would have been disappointed to concede a goal from such an angle, as it was a sudden double whammy for the home team. In response to Chelsea’s second goal, Postecoglou came on as a substitute, replacing former Blue Callum Hudson-Odoi with Douglas Luiz.
Much like James’ late clincher, there were boos from a disgruntled crowd. There was a sarcastic cheer when Gusto was shown Chelsea’s second yellow card in the embers.
Should Nottingham Forest sack manager Ange Postecoglou? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
5. Postecoglou plummets under pressure
Sean Dyche must be getting a cut and a shave at this point. Coach Postecoglou has now lost six of his eight games in charge and has never recorded a win. The Australian-Greek manager survived the international break but has a Europa League clash with Porto on Thursday looming.
There was graffiti on the wall when Williams missed a golden chance to close the gap just after the hour mark. Owner Evangelos Marinakis looked down with disdain before getting up from his seat.
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