Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest analysis

Forest, meanwhile, followed suit. Matz Sels, Jair Cunha and Igor Jesus were the only surviving members from the side that started the 5-0 win at Sunderland for the Bank Holiday trip to Chelsea. That isn’t wholly surprising. Forest claimed a first-leg advantage in their European showdown with Villa last weekend, as Chris Wood’s second-half penalty separated the pair. Even so, Forest sought to make Chelsea pay at Stamford Bridge. The Blues, mired on a five-game losing streak, were desperately short of confidence heading into their welcome of the Tricky Trees. Saying that, Calum McFarlane’s side should have had enough to overcome a Forest side with one eye on their Villa clash. Forest punish out-of-sorts Chelsea However, they found themselves two goals down with just 15 minutes on the clock. Taiwo Awoniyi marked just his second start with a third goal league goal of the season. The Nigerian was then fouled by Malo Gusto for a Forest penalty, duly dispatched by Igor Jesus. Chelsea huffed and puffed to haul themselves back into the tie and came close on the stroke of half time. However, Sels was equal to Cole Palmer’s penalty as the Blues’ goalless run continued. It’s not as though Chelsea didn’t have chances to get back into the game. Enzo Fernandez struck the post shortly before Jesus’ penalty while debutant Jamie Derry also tested Forest’s Belgian shotstopper prior to his withdrawal. The west London side conceded a third shortly after the restart. Awoniyi timed his run to superbly to bag his second and Forest’s third having been teed up perfectly by substitute Morgan Gibbs-White. Joao Pedro thought he’d ended Chelsea’s lengthy wait for a goal with a late consolation, but was offside when Marc Cucurella’s initial ball came in, the Brazilian denied by Sels before heading in the rebound. Pedro made no mistake from close range in second half injury time, acrobatically rifling past Sels as Chelsea bagged a first league goal since the Brazilian’s hat-trick strike at Aston Villa in early March. Regardless, a 3-1 defeat is a worry for the Blues. Blues concerns for the run in As Chelsea were booed off at full-time on Monday, there are legitimate concerns at how the remainer of the season will pan out. McFarlane has his work cut out to ensure a European finish. The FA Cup final later this month means there is still plenty to play for in the coming weeks. Yet with the way the season is panning out, a bottom-half finish can’t be ruled out. The priority will be the domestic showpiece with Manchester City on May 16th. But with games against Liverpool, Tottenham and Sunderland looming, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Chelsea finish below 10th. For a team of Chelsea’s stature, that’s almost unthinkable. It would mirror the 12th-placed finish from 2022-23, where Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard manned the helm. In fact the campaign is showing stark similarities given Chelsea’s managerial upheaval. Brilliant Bakwa shines at Stamford Bridge And as the Blues laboured to a 3-1 loss, Awoniyi was voted the Player of the Match by Sky Sports. With a two-goal salvo, the 28-year-old was a worthy winner. Yet it was the performance of Dilane Bakwa that really caught the eye. Making his fifth league start of the season, the former Strasbourg man gave the BlueCo onlookers a performance to remember.Bakwa provided the assist for Awoniyi’s first goal, that coming from one of two chances created. The 23-year-old also put in the cross that led to the first-half Forest penalty and won three fouls as Chelsea identified Bakwa as the Forest dangerman. He lived up to the billing, too, as Cucurella struggled to contain the Forest wideman. It bodes well for Forest and Vitor Pereira, who can place the full trust in his fringe players ahead of a crunch run of games. A huge three points made it five competitive wins on the spin for Forest, who have now all-but secured their top-flight safety. Forest is now safe? Indeed, they’ve cracked the magic 40-point mark and are six clear of West Ham in 18th. The Hammers face league leaders Arsenal next Sunday, while Forest welcome Newcastle to the City Ground, albeit after a draining second-leg clash with Aston Villa. However, as Jamie Carragher alluded to before Monday’s game, Forest will be believing they have one foot in the Premier League door for next season. They’ll be able to confirm their top-flight spot before long.