Cole Palmer misses Chelsea penalty (Image: Getty)
Chelsea’s season reached a disappointing low as Nottingham Forest won 3-1 at Stamford Bridge and they were handed a sixth successive Premier League defeat. Already the club’s worst league result since 1912, just when it looked like there was no danger left, Forest’s second-team squad arrived in west London and overwhelmed Chelsea with two goals from Taiwo Awonih (his first in 98 seconds) and a penalty from Igor Jesus. The win moved Vitor Pereira’s side six points clear of the relegation zone.
The Blues’ five-game scoring streak had almost reached six when Joao Pedro scored his first league goal since March 4 with an overhead kick in stoppage time. The absurdity of Cole Palmer’s first-half penalty was previously exposed when his substitute goalkeeper Mats Sells saved it. Express Sport assesses and predicts the Blues after the crushing defeat…
Chelsea vs Forest player ratings
Robert Sanchez – 5
Sanchez has been under intense scrutiny for some time now, but there was nothing he could do to stop Forest from scoring first or extending their lead. He was sent off due to injury.
Cucurella had a troublesome afternoon. Dillane Bakwa, who provided the assist for the opening goal, outscored Chelsea’s defenders on numerous occasions.
Awoniyi separated from Chalobah to create space at the back post to give Forest the lead after just a few minutes.
Tosin shouted “take it easy” shortly after Chelsea fell behind in the first half, an irony of their careless start. Of course, the Blues’ defenders wanted their teammates to pay close attention to possession and establish some momentum, but that hardly matters when the issue is closer to home.
Gusto committed a reckless foul in the box, giving Forest a penalty that gave them a chance to extend their lead. He also did not make any effort to protect the space left by Charova at the back post, and was unable to do well with the opening goal. That said, Gast did have some nice crosses in the second half, but there wasn’t much to celebrate.
Caicedo was partly responsible for scoring the third goal of the afternoon, but lost track of marker Morgan Gibbs-White as Forest broke behind the defense. Overall, Chelsea found it difficult to break through the opponent’s deep defensive structure, and neither he nor Lavia nor Fernandes could find an answer to the task.
Chelsea have lost their last six Premier League games (Image: Getty)
Lavia continued to maintain possession in midfield, but was responsible for choosing the “safe” option on several occasions. According to the home supporters, when he passed backwards instead of forwards, their groans quickly turned into words that could not be repeated.
Derry had a baptism of fire in the Premier League. Despite limited success, the Chelsea winger rarely shied away from the opportunity to play against opposing full-backs. But it was his courage, determination and audacity that led him to take on an aerial duel with Zac Abbott that many would have avoided, awarding the Blues a penalty just before the interval. Hopefully he’s okay.
Fernandes converted many of the precious few chances Chelsea created early on. The Blues’ midfielders were not reluctant to be given the ball, but had little success in closing the gap.
Palmer could barely see what was going on. The Chelsea midfielder was barely visible. The Blues needed someone to break the ice and break out of this slump, and he wasn’t able to do that. Missing the penalty did nothing for his confidence. The high quality of the moment of death alone was not enough to earn a good rating.
Joao Pedro didn’t see the ball as much as McFarlane would have liked in the first half, but he still showed glimpses of quality. When the ball finally fell to the Chelsea striker in the box, he found the net… only to be flagged for offside. Cruel. Although it meant nothing in the end, Joao Pedro produced a spectacular bicycle kick worthy of a highlight reel in stoppage time.
substitute
Liam Delap – 5
Delap barely played in the game. The Chelsea striker chased down some wayward passes but had little involvement in the Forest box.
This was far from the return to the first team that Colwill had dreamed of. Callum MacFarlane could hardly have asked for more from the Chelsea defender. It’s simply encouraging to see him back on the pitch.
Santos combined well with Fernandes at one point to evade the press. Beyond that, Chelsea’s midfielders were primarily recycling possession and playing the ball wide when faced with deep defensive blocks.
Jorgensen rarely saw action.
