Ange Postecoglou’s anticipate a primary win as Nottingham Forest boss continued after his aspect fell to a 3–0 house defeat to Chelsea on the Metropolis Floor on Saturday. The outcome, which was earlier predicted by Softfootball within the match preview to be a 2-1 win in Chelsea’s favour, leaves Forest rooted close to the underside and piles additional stress on the Australian, whose group has now gone eight league video games with out victory.
For Chelsea, the win marked a turning level in a marketing campaign hampered by accidents, with a number of key gamers—together with Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernández—nonetheless sidelined. As reported by Softfootball, Palmer’s absence will prolong for at the least six weeks, forcing Enzo Maresca to depend on rising skills like Josh Acheampong and Andrey Santos, each of whom impressed in Nottingham.
Forest started brightly, urgent excessive and forcing errors from Chelsea’s makeshift midfield. Elliot Anderson squandered a wonderful early probability, opting to chop inside as an alternative of taking pictures, whereas Morgan Gibbs-White volleyed over from shut vary after Douglas Luiz nodded throughout purpose.
Regardless of the early stress, Chelsea slowly grew into the competition and almost stole the lead earlier than halftime when João Pedro lofted a intelligent ball to Santos, who dragged his effort simply broad.
With Maresca serving a touchline ban after his crimson card in opposition to Liverpool, Chelsea’s halftime changes had been essential. The Blues emerged reworked and struck twice in fast succession. Pedro Neto charged down the left to arrange Josh Acheampong for the opener on 49 minutes earlier than firing in a chic free kick three minutes later to double the benefit.
Forest’s response was tame, summed up by Igor Jesus hitting each the bar and submit in the identical transfer. Reece James then sealed the outcome with a thumping volley from a late nook, capping a efficiency filled with self-discipline and vitality. Malo Gusto’s late crimson card for a reckless sort out did little to dampen Chelsea’s temper, as Maresca’s males celebrated simply their fourth away league win in 15 matches.
Chelsea’s latest submit on their official X account celebrates their 3-0 victory, marking their third consecutive Premier League win, a turnaround pushed by new supervisor Enzo Maresca’s tactical shift to a possession-based model.
For Postecoglou, although, the long run appears to be like unsure, particularly after Forest proprietor Evangelos Marinakis was seen leaving his seat early, maybe signalling extra bother forward.
