Nottingham Forest produced a ruthless display at Stamford Bridge to beat Chelsea 3-1, deepening the hosts’ miserable run and taking a significant step towards Premier League survival.
Forest stun Chelsea early
The tone was set inside two minutes as Nottingham Forest struck with their first meaningful attack. Dilane Bakwa breezed past Marc Cucurella on the right and delivered a cross for Taiwo Awoniyi, who peeled away from his marker and powered a header into the top corner.
Chelsea attempted to respond and came close through Enzo Fernandez, whose low strike rattled the post, but their defensive fragility was quickly exposed again.
Malo Gusto’s shirt pull on Awoniyi resulted in a penalty after a VAR review, and Igor Jesus calmly converted from the spot to double Forest’s lead.
The hosts’ afternoon went from bad to worse before half-time. A lengthy stoppage following a serious head collision led to a Chelsea penalty, but Cole Palmer’s effort was superbly saved by Matz Sels, preserving Forest’s two-goal advantage heading into the break.
Clinical counter seals the result
Forest made changes at half-time, and one of them paid off. Morgan Gibbs-White made an immediate impact by racing in behind and delivering a low cross for Awoniyi to tap in from close range, making it 3-0 early in the second half.
As the game wore on, Stamford Bridge began to empty, with the home side looking devoid of belief and energy. Long spells of slow, predictable build-up play summed up a team struggling for confidence.
Late goal offers little consolation
Chelsea finally ended their prolonged goal drought deep into stoppage time. Marc Cucurella nodded a cross back into the danger area, and Joao Pedro produced an acrobatic finish from close range to pull one back.
By then, however, the result was already sealed. Forest comfortably saw out the remaining minutes to secure a deserved win, condemning Chelsea to six straight losses in the top flight.
