‘OUTSTANDING!’ – PUNDITS APPLAUD CHELSEA ACE IN FOREST VICTORY
Chelsea secured a vital 3-0 away win at Nottingham Forest, with Pedro Neto starring. The winger provided a superb assist for Josh Acheampong and scored a brilliant free-kick, with Reece James adding a late third.
Chelsea defeated Nottingham Forest and came back from the East Midlands with all three points.
To build on their late victory against Liverpool before the international break, Chelsea defeated Nottingham Forest away from home on Saturday. The game at the City Ground was quite entertaining and open, especially in the second half.
Josh Acheampong, a teenage star, gave Chelsea the lead after putting home a superb Pedro Neto cross with a strong header from close range.
Then, in yet another brilliant moment, Neto made it two with a low free kick inside the near post. After a corner, the ball fell right in front of the penalty spot, and seven minutes from time, Reece James scored with a low effort.
With the 19-year-old continuing to live up to the trust that Enzo Maresca has placed in him, Acheampong is certain to create headlines from this game. However, a different player was the star of the show. Here, winger Neto consistently tore Oleksandr Zinchenko apart and sent dangerous balls into the box.
On TNT Sports, commentator Lucy Ward praised Pedro Neto's assist, saying, "That is great from Neto." He improves his position to cross, and Forest finds it difficult to control the ball as it enters the box. Josh Acheampong relished that one, no doubt.
"What a strike that is," she continued after Neto scored. Ange Postecoglou is making a shift, and Pedro Neto contributed to the first goal. Matz Sels was unable to contain it.
Rachel Corsie, a BBC Sport analyst, commented on the Neto assist, saying, "Excellent goal." It is a fantastic delivery, not fizzed in with loads of pace, but it is floated into the six-yard box, and Neto simply uses his pace to create the space. Acheampong is not going to miss when he rips off Murillo in the middle and a few yards out.
Chelsea's Defensive Tactics
Chelsea gave up chances here, though, as Forest hit the bar and post with one attempt, and Robert Sanchez made a wonderful save at the hour mark. Despite this, Chelsea left the East Midlands with three points.
Following the second goal, BBC Sport commentator Micah Richards declared, "Chelsea have been awful at the back; they have not had a clean sheet in the Premier League since August." "They have been making too many mistakes, so you can tell something is wrong there.
"The forest has got the best opportunities and looks better than it has in the past. However, as Chelsea takes the lead, I fear that they may regret not taking advantage of those opportunities.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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