Awoniyi shines as Nottingham Forest defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

Awoniyi shines as Nottingham Forest defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

Taiwo Awoniyi turned assist provider on the day he didn’t find the back of the net as Nottingham Forest recorded a shocking 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Chelsea’s mixed start to the Premier League season continued  as Nottingham Forest secured the famous victory after 28 years it last won away at Chelsea.

The Steve Cooper’s side produced an impressive performance to rewrite the history books as Anthony Elanga struck in the 48th minute to earn The Reds their first away victory of the season and a vital three points on the road.

As for Chelsea, Mauricio Pochettino cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as his side failed to score for the first time this term – despite spending £1billion on new players since Todd Boehly took over last summer. Nicolas Jackson squandered the Blues’ best chance late on as he fired over Matt Turner’s crossbar.

Chelsea now have just four points from their opening four Premier League games, which is their worst start to a season since 1995.

After making the £105m move from Brighton last month, Moises Caicedo has endured somewhat of a disappointing start to life at Stamford Bridge. Despite helping Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Luton last weekend, Caicedo gave away a penalty on his debut in a 3-1 defeat at West Ham and made another costly mistake against Forest.

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The Ecuadorian received the ball inside his own-half, but his first touch was too heavy and it allowed Forest to win possession back. Awoniyi played the ball through Thiago Silva’s legs and into Elanga, who touch a couple of touches before sliding the ball past Sanchez and into the far corner.

Having joined the Blues from Manchester City for £42.5m on Deadline Day, Cole Palmer was handed his Chelsea debut in the 61st minute as he tried to conjure up a Blues fightback. And the 21-year-old made an impact during his short time on the pitch.

In fact, Palmer registered more successful attacking third passes (18) than any other forward for either Chelsea or Forest. Only Enzo Fernandez made more (32). Meanwhile, Palmer registered more successful take-ons (3/4) than anyone during the second-half of the match.

Although Palmer wasn’t able to help Chelsea get anything from the match, Blues fans will no doubt be buoyed with what they saw from the England Under 21 international.

The Blues were lacklustre in the final third and struggled to cause Forest many issues all afternoon. In fact, Chelsea had just two shots on target.

Chelsea’s best chance of the match fell to Jackson. Sterling did excellently to get to the by-line, before pulling the ball back to the Senegal forward. However, Jackson leant back and scooped the ball over the crossbar. Apart from that, Ben Chilwell and Sterling both worked hard but lacked quality when it came to the finishing touch.

Awoniyi shines as Nottingham Forest defeat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge