The 2023/24 Premier League season has entered the final stage, and in addition to the most suspenseful title race, the relegation suspense is also particularly attracting the attention of fans. Sheffield United were relegated early, and the remaining two relegated teams were all tied to Nottingham Forest. In the early morning of May 12, Beijing time, Nottingham Forest sat at home to face the Blues Chelsea, and in the end Nottingham Forest did not grasp their fate and was reversed by Chelsea with a score of 2-3.
Nottingham Forest won the Champions League twice in 1978/79 and 1979/1980, but since then they have been in the lower leagues for a long time, returning to the Premier League after many years last season and successfully relegated. This season, Nottingham Forest was deducted 4 points for violating the financial rules of the Premier League, leaving Nottingham Forest, which had been relegated, in crisis.
Prior to this round, the Premier League's relegation zone was in the early relegation zone, with Burnley second from bottom, Luton third from bottom, and Nottingham Forest 17th, three points above the relegation zone and a goal difference. Interestingly, Sheffield United, Luton Town and Burnley are the three promoted teams.
At the beginning of the game, Nottingham Forest, who was eager to grab points and relegation, played more actively, and in the second minute, Nottingham Forest launched an attack with a long pass from the backfield, and Chris Wood stepped forward to fight in the penalty area to face the attacking goalkeeper and chose to shoot and was saved by Petrovic. In the eighth minute, Chelsea hit back quickly, Palmer sent a through ball and Mudryk cut in from the left to volley home from a tight angle to give Chelsea a dream start to a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
In the 16th minute, Nottingham Forest's fast attack was interrupted by a tactical foul by Badiashiler, White took a free kick, Boly scored with a header in the box, and Nottingham Forest equalized 1-1 Chelsea. In the 33rd minute, Chelsea counter-attacked, Palmer sent a through ball, Jackson stepped forward to get a one-on-one shot, but Jackson's goal was saved by Petrovic.
In the 53rd minute, Yates fired a shot from outside the box and the ball hit the post and bounced off, allowing Chelsea to escape. In the 57th minute, Hudson-Odoi broke through on the left and crossed the bottom, White grabbed the header and hit the post again, and Chris Wood shot 1 meter in front of the goal. In the 63rd minute, Palmer took a free-kick in front of the goal, and Thiago Silva flicked his header and hit the post. In the 71st minute, Hudson-Odoi broke through to the line of the penalty area and cut inside and hit the crossbar with a shot.
In the 74th minute, White broke through with the ball in front of the field, and Hudson-Odoi burst into the penalty area to score and break through the goal of his old club, and Nottingham Forest overtook the score 2-1 at home. In the 80th minute, Caicedo sent a diagonal cross and Raheem Sterling scored from inside the box to make it 2-2 Nottingham Forest. In the 82nd minute, Caicedo instigated an attack, James crossed from the bottom and Jackson headed home to score as Chelsea narrowly beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 away.
Looking at the post-match stats, Nottingham Forest had 32 per cent possession and 4 of their 20 attempts on target, while Chelsea had 68 per cent possession and 5 of 12 shots on target. After this campaign, Nottingham Forest are still three points ahead of Luton Town on 29 points, with a goal difference of 13 more than Luton, while Chelsea have 57 points, which is level with Newcastle and seventh on goal difference.