Nottingham Forest defeated Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on May 4, extending the Blues' losing streak to six matches in the Premier League. Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice for the visitors, who made eight changes ahead of their Europa League semi-final. Interim coach Calum McFarlane called the opening 15 minutes unacceptable.
Chelsea suffered a 3-1 home loss to Nottingham Forest, marking their sixth consecutive Premier League defeat. The Blues sit ninth in the table, 10 points outside the top five and now four points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth. Forest took the lead in the second minute when Taiwo Awoniyi headed in a cross from Dilane Bakwa, followed by Igor Jesus converting a 15th-minute penalty after Malo Gusto pulled Awoniyi's shirt, confirmed by VAR review. A head clash between Zach Abbott and Jesse Derry led to a Chelsea penalty, but Cole Palmer's effort was saved by Matz Sels. Awoniyi added a third early in the second half from a Morgan Gibbs-White cross, before Joao Pedro's late overhead kick provided consolation for Chelsea. Robert Sanchez and Gibbs-White also sustained head injuries and were substituted, as was Derry, who was stretchered off but later reported conscious and taken to hospital for checks. McFarlane said, “The first 15 minutes were unacceptable. The manner of the two goals conceded really set us back and gave us a mountain to climb.” He added, “We cannot start games in the Premier League like this. We’re training tomorrow, we’ll review the game and try to find a reason why and try to make sure the performance level is higher against Liverpool in five days’ time.” Chelsea recently beat Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final under McFarlane, who took over after Liam Rosenior's sacking, but their Champions League hopes via a sixth-place finish and Villa winning Europa League now appear slim.
