Nottingham Forest 0–1 Chelsea Player Ratings: Chelsea Enters the Champions League in Style After a Second Half Winner

For one last time this season Nottingham Forest face off against Chelsea in the final match week of the Premier League at the picturesque City Ground. Though either of these teams lost the hopes for being adorned as the champions, there are still aspirations and goals for both the teams. The goal for which both teams are fighting for is the fifth position which would provide them a direct ticket to play the Champions League. To add up the thrill for this match, only one out of this two teams could potentially grab that spot and there is even a possibility that either of them fall short of that.

Chelsea are currently with the steering wheel sitting on the fifth position with a very favorable goal difference. A win would seal the Champions League entry for them and a draw would mean that they would have to hope for the results of Villa and Newcastle United. A loss however would mean that they would have to vacate the fifth position for any other teams to enter. The case is way different for Forest. A win is the only option for Forest to qualify, however that factor alone is not complete. They would hugely have to rely on the results of Villa and Newcastle and would hope they would drop the points. In short, a win is not an option for both the teams. It was the only option.

A very special atmosphere was being built at the City Ground for the match with so much in stake. The fans came in huge numbers of hours before the kickoff to ensure that they do their part and help to shape the destiny of their team. Forest initiated the proceedings, and both teams pushed hard to score the opener which could change the entire scenario of the match and shift momentum to their side. Forest were seen having the control of the game and they constantly made attacks. It looked very beautiful until it came to the final third. The Forest players were seen controlling and making runs in the attacking third.

But something lacked in the finishing, and it felt like the scoring boots of the players were somewhere missing. In the dying minutes of the match Chris Wood got a brilliant chance to score the opener but he missed that sitter. On the other hand, Chelsea were seen struggling and they did not manage to get even one shot on target. At half time, the score was 0-0 with defence of either side dominating and Chelsea with the upper edge to qualify for the Champions League.

The second half began with much vigor and Chelsea initiated the attacks. The Blues scored in the early minutes from the services of Colwill who was lurking in the second post to give life to the ball given by Neto which was missed by everyone to shake the back of the net and get the opener in the very first shot on target. Forest now became desperate and went to a full-on offensive approach. However as in the first half, Chris Wood failed to convert multiple times despite getting numerous chances and this led to the score being stagnant and at full time the score was 0-1 in favor of Chelsea, and they earn a spot in the Champions league. Here are the Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea Player Ratings

Nottingham Forest Player Ratings vs Chelsea

GK - Matz Sels - 6/10

Had almost nothing to do other than making some routine saves as Chelsea failed to take even one shot on target. The defence was so strong in the first half so much that he did not have to even touch the ball apart from taking the goal kicks. However, when his team needed him, he failed to be there as he was nowhere near in a position to save the ball.

LB - Neco Williams - 6/10

Had a pretty bad day at the office. Was restricted to the defence for the cast majority of the match and only made some cameo roles in the attack. However, this positioning in the defence did not bring any results as opponents were easily able to get past the player. Moreover, adding up to his frustration, the player had an average passing accuracy of in and around 60% throughout the match.

CB - Murillo - 6/10

Intercepted the passes made by Chelsea to Neto who was a lone striker and did not have much of a role initially. Later on when Chelsea started to make some attacks from the wings and Neco was unable to stop him alone, he went to support him but again did not success.

CB - Nikola Milenković - 6.8/10

Was possibly the only man properly marshalling the defence. Won almost all the duels involves in. Made some interceptions and tackles to keep the Chelsea attackers away from infiltrating in. Had an inaccurate passing accuracy. Was the source of multiple long balls that came from the backline. However, his individual efforts fell short due to the small errors made by the other players.

RB - Ola Aina - 6.8/10

Was pretty active in the attack and defence. Made some carpet passes from the right flank which though did not create a huge impact, added up the work for the opponents. Was basically the playmaker from the right flank as his constant attempts in the attack created serious trouble for the opponents. Had some chances in to score from the corners but it went just a few inches above the bar. In the second half however, most of these crosses were overhit and went to no man's land.

CM - Elliot Anderson - 6.5/10

Had a decent day. Was solid in the midfield and did not let the Chelsea players to get past him. He along with the other fellow midfielders created a nightmare scenario for the opponents disallowing them from making moves.

CM - Ibrahim Sangare - 6/10

Had a decent day in the office as he was involved in multiple duels which he won and was also involved in the defence too. However, while comparing the players performance with his teammates, it was minimal. For this reason, he was subbed off.

CM - Nicolas Dominguez - 7/10

Provided some excellent balls from outside the box to the sides of the six-yard box which helped his team make some positive movements. Won almost every duel he was involved in. Equally came back in the defence to make tackles and blocks whenever Chelsea made attacks. Unfortunately had to be subbed off due to an injury and had to end the league in an unexpected manner.

AM - Morgan Gibbs-White - 6/10

Initiated the attacks by making dribbles. Was seen involving physically in the match. Had an option to make a beautiful pass inside the box where a player in red was lurking. Had so much time to take the right call but made the wrong decisions. The key player for the last two matches somehow did not play up to the expectations.

CF - Anthony Elanga - 7/10

Connected the ball properly in the attacking third but somehow failed to get control. Made some good crosses which reached Dominguez, and this created some extra trouble for the already nervous Chelsea. Was active throughout in the flanks but his individual efforts were disappointed by Chris Wood.

CF - Chris Wood - 5/10

Won a couple of freekicks here and there in the attacking half. Was completely unmarked in the dying minutes of the first half, when he won the ball. However, once again adding up to the misfortune, the ball sailed over the crossbar. In the final minutes of the second half, he once again failed to score despite getting numerous chances. Had a terrible day and could be named as the key reason why Forest couldn't find the win. Won chances but failed to score any of them.

Sub - Callum Hudson-Odoi - 6/10

Sub - Ryan Yates - 6/10

Sub - Jota Silva - 6/10

Manager - Nuno Espírito Santo - 6/10

Had a good performance overall. But luck was not in his side. HIs team crafted multiple chances but at the end his team failed to finish which led to him witnessing his side fall into ashes.

Chelsea Player Ratings vs Nottingham Forest

GK - Robert Sanchez - 6.5/10

Was pretty much solid in the backline. Made some saves whenever his team needed him. Was lucky throughout the match as Forest players, especially Chris Wood lacked finishing and did not find target.

LB - Reece James - 6.5/10

While White tried to make some speedy runs inside the box, he was the one to recover those and get a toe on the ball. Had a pretty good role to add pressure on Mark Wood which psychologically could have affected him leading to him missing multiple sitters.

CB - Tosin Adarabioyo - 7/10

Had pretty much the role of a DMF rather than a CB. Was more or less seen in the midfield area and did the job as a holding midfielder. Had a pretty much great game. as he won multiple duels in the midfield to resist the likes of White.

CB - Levi Colwill - 7.5/10

Was solid in the defence. Made multiple clearances in the defensive third whenever Nottingham players made the attacks. In the second half he had some brilliant foresight as he anticipated the ball would come in the second post and for that reason he trickily lurked in that area. When Nato made a pass inside the six-yard box, everyone thought that the ball would go out of play - but not Colwill. He made a run to make an attempt and easily tapped inside the open goal scoring the opener.

RB - Marc Cucurella - 6.5/10

Was solid in the back line. Found a bit hard to stop Aina from making attacks. Did pretty well in the defence. Though he was put under some serious pressure initially, his resilience and regrouping helped to secure the win.

CM - Enzo Fernandez- 6/10

While the midfield of Chelsea was a bit sloppy in the initial minutes, he was the one to hammer out a cross field pass out of play. Gave some key passes to Madueke which could have given his team some advantage, but it did not have any impact in the final third.

CM - Moisés Caicedo - 7/10

The Ecuadorian was essentially a silent killer. Had a decent passing accuracy. Was involved in almost a dozen duels and won almost every one of them. Made multiple clearances and tackles to keep the Forest players away from entering the Chelsea fortress. Though his name was not celebrated in the match, his presence was pivotal.

LW - Jadon Sancho - 6/10

Was finding it hard to create an impact in the first half. Attempted to make some dribbles but was not successful in those. Did not manage to win the duels he was involved in and lost possession a couple of times. Struggled to deal with the physical dominance of Forest.

AM - Cole Palmer - 6.5/10

Struggled to make his presence felt in the match. The player was unable to create any significant impact and was not allowed space by the resilient Forest backline. Provided a lovely ball to Nato from the right which was destined to be a goal but however missed.

RW - Noni Madueke - 6.5/10

Made some beautiful runs infiltrating the Forest players and tried to help the ball reach to Nato. However, to his dismay most of them were easily intercepted by the opponents. Broke forward multiple times and provided some key passes to Palmer.

CF - Pedro Nato - 6.5/10

In the initial minutes, the player had almost no contributions as he lacked support in the tightly packed and secured Forest defence. Tried to make some solo runs but again the absence of any player to support him hit him hard. Got in a prime position to score as he got a dream delivery from Palmer, which to his surprise he failed to connect. Had the assist for the opener. Though it was not an optimal pass, the positioning of the player helped to convert.

Sub - Romeo Lavia - 6/10

Sub - Malo Gusto - 6/10

Sub - K.D. Hall - 6/10

Manager - Enzo Maresca - 7/10

To be honest, his team was seen struggling. Was terrible in the first half and did not score. In the second half, was able to regroup and somehow find the win and qualify for CL.

Sportsdunia's Player of the Match is Levi Colwill.