Nottingham Forest took a huge step towards Premier League survival with a 3-1 win at Chelsea on Monday that dealt a major blow to the Blues’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Taiwo Awoniyi marked his 100th Forest appearance with the early opener at Stamford Bridge, and Igor Jesus’s penalty doubled their advantage soon afterwards.
Cole Palmer compounded Chelsea’s misery when he missed a penalty late in the first half.
Awoniyi struck again after the interval, and Joao Pedro’s eye-catching bicycle kick in the closing stages was no consolation for lacklustre Chelsea.
Languishing in ninth place, Chelsea’s wretched run has left them on the verge of failing to reach next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea have lost six consecutive league games for the first time since 1993.
Scoring for the first time in six league matches was the only positive in a shambolic display.
Calum McFarlane’s team is 10 points behind fifth-placed Aston Villa, with only nine points available in the race for the top-five finish that secures Champions League qualification.
However, sixth will also earn a Champions League berth if Villa finish fifth and win the Europa League, leaving Chelsea — currently four points adrift of sixth-placed Bournemouth — still with a slender chance.
Forest’s third successive league victory moved them six points clear of the relegation zone, with four more points needed to guarantee survival.
There are just three games left for each club in Forest’s scrap with fourth-bottom Tottenham and third-bottom West Ham.
Pereira made eight changes from Forest’s previous league game as he prioritised holding onto their 1-0 lead in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg at Aston Villa.
The gamble paid off, and Pereira’s side, unbeaten in their last 10 games in all competitions, can now focus on finishing off Villa to reach their first European final since 1980.
McFarlane last week insisted Chelsea remain an attractive club for prospective managers despite their latest turbulent campaign.
Liam Rosenior was sacked in April, just 106 days after arriving from Strasbourg to replace Enzo Maresca, whose 18-month reign ended in January following hints of a lack of support from Chelsea’s hierarchy.
Potential replacements for Rosenior might disagree with McFarlane’s spin after such a moribund performance.
Miserable Chelsea
Even Forest’s understudies were too strong for lethargic Chelsea.
They took the lead after just 97 seconds when Dilane Bakwa evaded Marc Cucurella for a cross that reached Awoniyi, who punished Chelsea’s sloppy marking with a powerful header from six yards.
Chelsea were inches away from a quick-fire equaliser as Enzo Fernández’s low curler cannoned off the far post from the edge of the penalty area.
But the Blues lost their composure again when Gusto needlessly conceded a 15th-minute penalty.
Awoniyi’s shirt was tugged by the Chelsea defender as they contested Bakwa’s cross, and although Anthony Taylor ignored Forest’s initial appeals, the referee changed his decision after consulting the pitch-side monitor.
Jesus stepped up to fire the penalty straight down the middle for his 16th goal in all competitions this season.
Chelsea earned a penalty in first-half stoppage time after teenager Jesse Derry was felled by Forest’s Zach Abbott in a nasty collision that forced the Blues youngster to be stretchered off with a head injury.
But adding insult to injury, Palmer’s spot-kick was superbly saved by Matz Sels as jeers rained down from the stands.
Back from a serious knee injury, Chelsea defender Levi Colwill came on at half-time for his first appearance since July.
But Forest still bagged their third in the 52nd minute when Morgan Gibbs-White picked out Awoniyi, and he tapped in as Chelsea appealed in vain for offside.
By the time Joao Pedro scored with a spectacular overhead strike from 10 yards in added time, the Bridge was virtually empty in a fitting backdrop to another calamitous afternoon.
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