Nottingham Forest delivered a masterclass in survival, dispatching Chelsea 3-1 thanks to a double from Taiwo Awoniyi at Stamford Bridge.
While the Blues remains in the shadow of their upcoming FA Cup final, their Premier League form has plummeted into the abyss, marking a historic sixth consecutive league defeat.
The tone was set almost before the fans had found their seats. In just the 2nd minute, Dilane Bakwa turned Marc Cucurella inside out on the right flank.
His pinpoint cross found Taiwo Awoniyi, who rose unmarked to power a header past Robert Sanchez. Stamford Bridge, already on edge after a dismal run, fell into a stunned silence as the scoreline was 1-0.
Chelsea’s response was frantic but fragile. Despite flashes of promise from debutant Jesse Derry, the Blues’ defensive structure crumbled again in the 15th minute.
Malo Gusto was judged to have pulled Awoniyi’s shirt in the box, and after a VAR review, a penalty was awarded. Igor Jesus stepped up, coolly slotting the ball home to make it 2-0 before the twenty-minute mark.
The match took a somber turn late in the first half following a sickening clash of heads between 18-year-old Chelsea winger Jesse Derry and Forest’s Zach Abbott.
The resulting 14-minute stoppage left the stadium in shock, concerned state as Derry was eventually stretchered off by the Blues medical team.
Deep into that extended injury time, Chelsea were handed a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty of their own.
However, in a moment that epitomized Chelsea’s current luck, Cole Palmer, usually so reliable from the spot, saw his low effort brilliantly saved by Matz Sels.
The halftime whistle blew to a chorus of boos from the home faithful. Interim coach Calum McFarlane introduced Levi Colwill at the break, hoping for a defensive reset.
It lasted seven minutes. In the 52nd minute, Forest substitutes Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White combined on a ruthless counter-attack.
Gibbs-White’s low cross found Awoniyi at the far post for a tap-in, marking the striker’s second of the day and Forest’s third.
Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez was forced off following a bloody collision with Gibbs-White, replaced by Filip Jorgensen.
While Joao Pedro had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR shortly after, the game felt well and truly over as swathes of the Bridge began to empty.
In the 93rd minute, the Blues finally ended a scoreless drought that had spanned nearly two months.
Marc Cucurella’s lofted header found Joao Pedro, who controlled the ball on his chest before unleashing a spectacular overhead kick into the far corner.
It was his 20th goal of the campaign across all competitions from a world-class strike that felt entirely out of place in such a dismal team performance.
The game finished with Nottingham Forest claiming all three points against Chelsea 3-1, in a game which saw the Londoners unable to help themselves.
For Chelsea, the new manager bounce under McFarlane has been non-existent in league play despite how they showed up against Leeds United in the Emirates FA Cup semi final.
While an FA Cup final against Manchester City looms, the club sits in 9th place, four points behind Bournemouth and virtually out of the race for European qualification.
While for Nottingham Forest, the win is a major boost to help them escape possible relegation as they currently occupy 16th position with 42 points from 35 games.
Calum McFarlane wasn’t pleased with the result while voicing out how disappointing the team performed in the match.
Mcfarlane said: “A really disappointing result and performance. The first 15 minutes was not good enough. That set the tone.
“Its hard to say [why it went wrong at the moment, I’d probably like to review the game to look at such a stark contract to the way we defended against Leeds.
“Enzo Fernandez hits the post and Cole Palmer misses the penalty; when you have such a bad start you need those kind of moments to go in your favour and unfortunately they didn’t.
“Really disappointed with the performance and result. We never got to our level today.
Chelsea disappointing performance is a huge victory for Nottingham Forest after getting the assurance they need to improve on their chances of staying in the Premier League for next season.
