Chelsea 1 Nottingham Forest 3: A new low? Gibbs-White injury blow? Why can’t Chelsea defend?
A much-changed Nottingham Forest managed a remarkable 3-1 win over Chelsea on Monday afternoon, boosting their hopes of staying up and damaging the home side’s push for European football.
Despite making eight alterations to their starting line-up, Forest started well and went ahead after just two minutes, with Taiwo Awoniyi heading home to give his side the lead. Nottingham Forest were then given a penalty in the 13th minute after a video assistant referee review for a shirt pull in the box on Awoniyi. Igor Jesus then converted the penalty. As the game edged towards half-time, Jesse Derry was fouled in the box by Zach Abbott — with a penalty given. Derry suffered what appeared to be a serious head injury, and there was extended treatment for the youngster before he was replaced by Liam Delap. However, Cole Palmer missed the subsequent penalty kick.
Forest made three changes at half-time, bringing on Morgan Gibbs-White, Nikola Milenkovic and Elliot Anderson, while there was a welcome return for Levi Colwill for Chelsea as a substitute. Gibbs-White had a huge impact on Forest’s third, starting off a move before making an excellent run and teeing up Awoniyi for his second. However, his afternoon took a bad turn after a clash with Robert Sanchez meant he had to be taken off as a substitute due to a head injury. Chelsea appeared to have ended their goal drought through Joao Pedro, but a video assistant referee check revealed the end of his foot was offside.
Joao Pedro did eventually score Chelsea’s first goal in their last six games, a remarkable overhead kick, but that proved to be too little too late for the hosts.
Here, The Athletic’s experts Liam Twomey, Simon Johnson and Paul Taylor break down the game.
Could this Chelsea side be on course for their worst league position this century?
Everyone associated with Chelsea — from the players, staff and owners — should be embarrassed after a sixth defeat in a row, their worst run since 1993.
There were the customary boos and chants against the ownership during the 90 minutes. But perhaps the most damning thing was Chelsea fans chanting ‘we scored a goal’ and then ‘we nearly scored a goal’ when Joao Pedro found the net in the second half, only for it to be ruled offside. Forest fans were also chanting for a fourth, which symbolised just how much better they had been. Thousands of Chelsea fans had already left by the time Joao Pedro scored his spectacular consolation goal.
No one would have seen such a terrible demise happening after securing a 4-1 win at Aston Villa on March 4, their last victory in the top division.
Since then, they have been found wanting at both ends of the pitch against Newcastle United, Everton, Manchester City, Manchester United, Brighton and Hove Albion and now Nottingham Forest.
Chelsea interim head coach McFarlane watches on (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Any hope that Liam Rosenior’s sacking 12 days ago would spark an upturn, especially after their FA Cup semi-final victory over Leeds United, have been brought back to reality.
These results have seen them slide down the table in alarming fashion. Chelsea are now in danger of replicating, or perhaps beating, their worst league finish this century when they came 12th in 2022-23. That came in the first season under the current ownership.
Chelsea sit ninth, but just one point above Sunderland in 12th. Even Forest, who have struggled against relegation all season, have a chance to overtake them as they are only six points behind in 16th with three games to play.
Tottenham head coach Roberto De Zerbi was in attendance and he will not be worried by what he saw. Spurs, who have won just once in the league at Stamford Bridge since 1990, play Chelsea on May 19 in a game that could be key to their survival hopes.
It says it all that Chelsea are in worse form than Tottenham right now. Lose to them, and fans will find it even harder to forgive or forget.
Simon Johnson
How much of a blow would an injury to Gibbs-White be for Thursday night?
The most significant negative to a remarkable afternoon was the sight of the talismanic figure of Morgan Gibbs-White being forced off the pitch with a head injury.
The attacking midfielder had set up Forest’s third goal for Taiwo Awoniyi, after coming off the bench at half-time.
But he had to be withdrawn in the 66th minute, following a sickening clash of heads with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez — both men were left with their heads wrapped in bandages and unable to continue. It was a similar situation to a first-half clash that saw Zach Abbott and Jesse Derry forced off.
But it is the prospect of being without Gibbs-White against Villa that will be the biggest concern for Forest, with the former Wolves man having been an integral figure in Forest’s recent resurgence.
Paul Taylor
Gibbs-White heads down the tunnel with a head injury (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Derry’s dream day turns into a nightmare
What should have been a dream day for Jesse Derry ended with the horrible sight of the academy winger being carried off on a stretcher before half-time.
Derry was rightly rewarded for his fine form for the Under-21s with his first Premier League start, having made his debut as a substitute against Hull City in the FA Cup in February.
Sure, Chelsea were without any of their senior wingers due to injury, but the 18-year-old has been pushing for a place anyway.
Head coach Calum McFarlane was at Kingsmeadow on Friday night to see Derry shine for the Under-21s in a losing cause against Tottenham. Family members, including father and former Crystal Palace and Leeds midfielder Shaun, were at Stamford Bridge to witness what looked like a great occasion for everyone connected to the youngster.
Before his afternoon was ended so cruelly, there were positives and negatives to take from his display. Chelsea fans enjoyed seeing a left winger actually try to take on his man. Not everything he tried came off, but there was plenty of applause when things were attempted.
Defensively, Derry still has a bit to learn. He offered little help for Marc Cucurella as Dilane Bakwa effectively created Nottingham Forest’s two goals in the first half.
But this all felt secondary due to the awful clash with Zach Abbott that appeared to knock him out before he even landed on the pitch in the 45th minute.
Derry is carried from the field on a stretcher (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
There was a nervous hush around the ground as medical staff treated him for several minutes. A stretcher was soon called for, but it took some time before he was moved.
The Chelsea players looked on worriedly, with captain Enzo Fernandez going over the closest to see what was going on.
When Derry was taken off, supporters in all four stands stood up to applaud. Encouragingly, he was seen to move his hand to his face as he was taken down the tunnel.
Chelsea’s performance was dismal, but, unusually, it was not the most important thing for everyone connected to the club to be worried about, with Derry’s condition the biggest priority.
Simon Johnson
Is this win significant for Forest’s relegation battle?
With three games of the Premier League season left to play, Nottingham Forest have given themselves a six-point cushion between themselves and West Ham.
Vitor Pereira’s side have a goal difference of -2, in comparison to West Ham’s -19, which means the London side would effectively need to secure seven points from their remaining games — with Forest not picking up another point.
With 17th-placed Tottenham also needing to close a five-point gap on Forest to overtake them, it meant Forest effectively took a giant step towards safety at Stamford Bridge.
And, as they extended their unbeaten run to ten games with another memorable win, it left Vitor Pereira’s side with significant momentum heading into their massive Europa League tie at Aston Villa on Thursday.
Paul Taylor
Why can’t Chelsea defend…again?
Last weekend’s 1-0 win over Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley was encouraging chiefly because, for the first time since January, Chelsea successfully managed to hold Premier League opposition at bay in relative comfort and control for an entire game.
It was no surprise, therefore, to see Calum McFarlane stick with the same starting back four and midfield pair of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia for the visit of a seemingly depleted Nottingham Forest. Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah had handled the physical threat of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, so why not Awoniyi and Igor Jesus?
That logic was dismantled inside two minutes when Awoniyi managed to drift behind both of Chelsea’s centre-backs to head in a cross from Dilane Bakwa, who had the beating of Marc Cucurella for the entirety of a woeful first half.
Awoniyi and Jesus jointly bullied Tosin and Chalobah whenever Forest kicked long. Whenever they played it short, Chelsea’s starting midfield trio of Caicedo, Lavia and Enzo Fernandez, assembled for more than £250million, were left chasing shadows by Ryan Yates and Nicolas Dominguez despite having numerical superiority — with Cole Palmer also drifting infield.
Levi Colwill’s long-awaited introduction at half-time was a rare moment of light amid the darkness, but he will take a while to regain his former level. He was caught out for Forest’s third, but multiple teammates also failed to track Morgan Gibbs-White’s run into the space behind him, and Chalobah lost Awoniyi again at the back post.
Chelsea have become a terrible team without the ball, their disjointed attacking press compounded by a startlingly porous midfield and defenders prone to fairly frequent individual errors. This was a troublesome part of their DNA under Enzo Maresca, accelerated under Liam Rosenior and is now one of McFarlane’s most urgent problems.
Motivation and morale are clearly part of the issue, but Chelsea’s sporting leadership must also reckon with the reality that some of the players in blue on the pitch against Forest are simply not good enough to carry out what they are being asked to do at this level.
No side which defends this badly from front to back can hope for European qualification through the Premier League next season, and humiliation against Manchester City in the FA Cup final looks a far likelier outcome than a palate-cleansing triumph.
Liam Twomey
How justified was Pereira in his selection?
Nottingham Forest made eight changes from their last Premier League match, their most from one match to another this season.
The only three players to remain in the starting line-up from the 5-0 win at Sunderland were goalkeeper Matz Sels, defender Jair Cunha and in-form forward Igor Jesus.
Otherwise, Pereira rather boldly opted to start with most of his big hitters on the bench at Stamford Bridge.
Neco Williams, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Chris Wood, Nikola Milenkovic and Omari Hutchinson — all key figures in recent weeks — were all among the substitutes.
The focus, clearly, was on the trip to Aston Villa for the Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday night. Forest hold a 1-0 lead in that tie, but will face a Villa team who also rested many of their regulars in the 2-1 home defeat to Tottenham on Sunday.
Villa manager Unai Emery faced criticism — particularly from the fans of West Ham, who are also embroiled in the relegation fight, along with Tottenham and Forest — after making seven changes to his team at Villa Park.
Pereira made eight changes to his starting line-up (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
But Pereira took a similar approach in the capital, where he gambled on some of his fringe figures’ ability to deliver a result. It provided one of the game’s biggest talking points before a ball had even been kicked.
Forest could point to the unusual situation they find themselves in — as a club in European competition on Thursday, asked to play a Premier League fixture on a Monday afternoon. But given their precarious position in the table prior to kick-off, it still felt like a bold, if understandable, decision.
And, within 97 seconds, the decision looked to be vindicated as three of the players drafted in combined to put Forest in front. Ryan Yates prodded the ball to Dilane Bakwa, who in turn crossed for Taiwo Awoniyi to guide home a header and put them in front. By the end of the first-half, the decision was wholly justified, and even more so when the visitors went three ahead before the hour.
Paul Taylor
What next for Chelsea?
Chelsea travel to Anfield to face Liverpool in the Premier League on 9 May at 12.30pm BST (7.30am ET).
What next for Forest?
Nottingham Forest travel to Aston Villa in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final on 7 May at 8pm BST (3pm ET).
