Chelsea 0 Nottm Forest 1
Life has not been easy for Mauricio Pochettino since taking over as Chelsea manager as they welcomed Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge. Todd Boehly has spent over £1bn since taking over at Chelsea, while their opponents have signed 40 players since getting back into the Premier League.
The game could have been billed as the battle of the transfer window kings but some have been more successful than others. Forest were without Brennan Johnson who was sold to Tottenham on deadline day so Awoniyi carries the weight of the goal scoring for now.
Conor Gallagher had the first effort of the game as he looked to bend one in from outside of the box on his left foot, but it was not doing enough to trouble Turner in the Forest goal and flashed wide of the post.
Awoniyi had his first glimpse of goal as he held off Thiago Silva to turn and shoot but his effort went narrowly past the post, much to the relief of Sanchez. Chelsea meanwhile were knocking on the door at the other end and Enzo Fernandez got a shot away from the edge of the box but the ball whistled over the crossbar.
Credit: @NFFC
The Argentine midfielder was a big money signing for The Blues but has failed to impress in an attacking sense and mainly can be seen shooting like a stormtrooper. For the money Chelsea paid for him, all be it still young, he should be the finished article and not the work in progress he is seeming.
As the second-half started, Forest came forward with Awoniyi turning provider as he threaded it through to Elanga, who calmly slotted it passed Sanchez in the Chelsea goal to give the visitors the lead. The replay showed that the Forest striker had nutmegged Thiago Silva to set up the goal. Legs!
If you thought that Enzo Fernandez’s shooting was wayward, Nicolas Jackson calmly said ‘hold my pint’. As Sterling got to the byline to cut the ball back, with both keeper and defender on the ground, Jackson somehow put the ball over the bar when it seemed easier to score.
Chelsea fans have compared their new striker to Didier Drogba, based on what we saw from him today, the former-Chelsea player may be contacting his legal team over a defamation of character lawsuit.
The most expensive signing in Premier League history, Moises Caicedo, was at fault for the winning goal as he gave the ball away in midfield in the build-up. He and Fernandez cost the club a collective £220m between them and it looks as though they have been robbed. It won’t be long before we see Todd Boehly on some consumer rights programme talking about how he was scammed by fraudsters no doubt.
The Blues most in-form player this season, Raheem Sterling, was back to his anonymous best as you could be forgiven for thinking he was not playing in this game. Mauricio Pochettino’s nightmare continues and he quite possibly should not be digesting any food based gifts from the owner with a card saying ‘eat me’ on it. The West London hotseat has seemed quite the poisoned chalice in recent years with the club not showing any patience towards under-achieving managers.
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