Chelsea have ensured Champions League qualification for next season with a one-goal triumph against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday, in the final round of the Premier League campaign.
The only goal of the match was the work of Levi Colwill, just under five minutes into the second half.
Teams
Two names were missing from the Forest squad through injury, namely Eric da Silva Moreira and Taiwo Awoniyi.
With Mats Sels in goal, the standard centre-back partnership of Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo was flanked by Neco Williams and Ola Aina. Ibrahim Sangare anchored a diamond-shaped midfield, with Nicolas Dominguez and Elliot Anderson in box-to-box roles, and Morgan Gibbs-White at the tip. Anthony Elanga ed Chris Wood in attack.
As for Chelsea, Wesley Fofana and Omari Kellyman were out through injury, while Mykhaylo Mudryk (alleged doping) and Nicolas Jackson (red card) were suspended.
Robert Sanchez stood between the posts, shielded by the back four of centre-backs Tosin Adarabioyo and Colwill, left-back Marc Cucurella and right-back Reece James. Moises Caicedo paired up with Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park, while the trio of Jadon Sancho, Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke played just behind Pedro Neto as a makeshift striker.
Match recap
The game saw few clear chances in a nervy first half, with Pedro Neto – deputi front due to Nicolas Jackson’s suspension – firing a weak volley over the bar, and Forest striker Chris Wood missing an open goal after beating Robert Sanchez to a cross.
Colwill brought a bit of clarity shortly after the break, poking home from close range after Neto’s scuffed delivery across the box. From there, Chelsea adopted an uncharacteristically ive approach, surrendering the majority of possession but effectively stifling Forest’s counterattacking weapons.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side struggled to break down Chelsea’s deep block, and while Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga posed a threat, Forest found no way past a resilient backline marshalled by Tosin Adarabioyo and Colwill, with Sanchez dealing confidently with aerial pressure.
Forest’s best chance to equalize came in stoppage time when Wood found space in the box, but a poor first touch let him down and he ballooned his effort over.
Chin up, Forest
Such has been the standard of Nottingham Forest’s season that securing a place in the Conference League may feel like a bittersweet outcome. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men spent much of the campaign entrenched in the Premier League’s top five, only to fall agonisingly short of a historic Champions League qualification.
Ultimately, their undoing came at home, where a once-imposing City Ground saw Forest go winless in their final five matches. That late slump, coupled with the narrow defeat to Chelsea on the final day, leaves them reflecting on what might have been – despite achieving European qualification for the first time in over two decades.
That’s said, qualifying for any European competition represents huge success for a team that barely managed to secure Premier League survival a year ago. If anything, Forest fans should be (and probably are) proud of their manager and the team.
Chelsea back among the best
It was a very close thing – had Wood scored his chances, Forest would’ve taken Chelsea’s spot in the Champions League. As it is, it’s the Blues who’ll be playing in UEFA’s elite competition next season.
After years of spending enormous amounts of money on players who, one after another, failed to justify such investments, it seems things are starting to click into place at Stamford Bridge. Other expensive gs appear to have finally found the right rhythm.
Some reports suggested Maresca’s job would’ve been on the line had they failed to make the top five, but other, more reliable journalists maintain that the club always had faith in the 45-year-old tactician and never even thought about parting ways with him this summer.
But ironically, it remains clear that Maresca needs further reinforcements if the plan is to take the next step and properly challenge for the Premier League title and Champions League glory again. It will, of course, mean there will be outgoings as well.
The summer window is about to open, so we’ll see what happens soon enough.
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