Nottingham failed to secure a victory in their eighth game under coach Ange Postecoglou. The coach was dismissed a few minutes after the unfortunate 0-3 defeat to Chelsea.
Nottingham had not won a single game under Ange Postecoglou before the clash with Chelsea, so the eighth attempt was like a final for the coach. He wanted to win his fateful game with, among others, former Union player Awoniyi, who was making his season debut. It was just one of five changes from the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United, with the luckless striker Wood also finding himself on the bench.
The changes at Forest paid off in the early stages. Suspended coach Enzo Maresca watched from the stands as his team, which had defeated champions Liverpool 2-1 before the international break, looked completely overwhelmed. The Blues made hair-raising mistakes in their build-up play, not least because Nottingham’s pressing was working perfectly.
And so it took just nine minutes for Forest to take a 1-0 lead after a mistake in Chelsea’s build-up play. Fatally, however, Anderson decided to cut inside when he was alone in front of goal in order to shoot with his right foot, and Chelsea were just able to extinguish the fire they had started themselves.
Double chances for Gibbs-White and Andrey Santos
In the 20th minute, the Blues gave their opponents two chances. Chalobah made a mistake in his build-up play, which Gibbs-White should have taken advantage of. However, with only keeper Sanchez to beat, he shot wide from 16 meters. Shortly afterwards, the Chelsea defense looked shaky again, but Gibbs-White once more failed to capitalize on the resulting chance, unable to get the ball on target from a tight angle. Nottingham remained aggressive, but were not as determined as before. Chelsea, who seemed rather uninspired, mostly ended up at the edge of the box, and it was only shortly before half-time that Forest created any danger: Andrey Santos shot over the goal from 15 meters (40′) and, just a minute later, after a wonderful lob pass from Joao Pedro, sent the ball just wide of the goal.
Pedro Neto turns the tide – Marinakis leaves the stands
The Blues’ coaching team responded to the lackluster performance with three substitutions at half-time, including the introduction of former Dortmund player Gittens. For Nottingham, Awoniyi made way for Igor Jesus.
But it was the old guard who turned the tide for Chelsea: Pedro Neto broke through on the left and sent in a silky cross to Acheampong, who was still positioned in the penalty area after a previous set piece and headed home unchallenged (49′). But that wasn’t all: just three minutes later, Pedro Neto found a gap in the wall with a free kick, making it 2-0 for the Blues shortly after the restart. Nottingham could well have got back into the game, but their finishing remained disastrous. Williams (62′) shot over from close range, keeper Sanchez saved against Milenkovic and Sangare (65′) in quick succession, and Igor Jesus hit the crossbar (71′). Club owner Evangelos Marinakis missed some of these magnificent opportunities, with the Greek leaving his box in the middle of the second half.
At least he missed the 0-3, which came about after a goalkeeper error. Sels’ fist save from a corner in the 84th minute was far from optimal, and James found the gap from eleven meters.
Brief club statement shortly after the final whistle
That sealed Nottingham’s fate – and Postecoglou’s too. “Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect following a series of disappointing results and performances. The club will not be making any further comments at this time,” the club said in a brief statement just minutes after the final whistle.
The Australian, who won the Europa League with Tottenham last season but had to step down due to poor domestic results, had only been in charge at Forest for five and a half weeks as the successor to Nuno Espirito Santo. It is not yet clear who will be on the bench for Thursday’s Europa League match against FC Porto. In the Premier League, Nottingham, which finished seventh last year, is currently embroiled in a relegation battle.