Nottingham Forest’s sensational 3-1 victory against Chelsea, which saw them leap towards Premier League safety, was the perfect preparation for their Europa League semi-final second leg against Aston Villa — together in every aspect and buoyed by the momentum of winning five games in a row. George Edwards was at the match
If there’s a way to perfectly prepare for a semi-final of a lifetime, Nottingham Forest showed Aston Villa exactly it.
A 3-1 win against Chelsea saw Forest take a huge surge towards Premier League safety, but had the potential pre-match to hamper their chances of progression on Thursday at Villa Park, despite the 1-0 lead they have from the first leg.
It was unclear what manager Vitor Pereira’s priorities were, but the consensus was that survival remained the club’s main target, especially with owner Evangelos Marinakis in attendance.
Somewhat surprisingly, eight changes came, seeing Forest revert largely to the XI fielded when Pereira had rotated in the Europa League, plus the inclusions of Matz Sels, Luca Netz and Taiwo Awoniyi; the latter far from regular starters.
But while the XI may have changed, it was evident from kick-off that mindset remained focused and fixated — something that cannot be said of Villa’s sloppy showing against Tottenham last night, similarly making seven changes from the first leg.
Villa looked vastly different, lethargic from the get-go, losing 50/50s and lacking intensity, a performance that drew a chorus of boos from the home crowd throughout. Even manager Unai Emery didn’t seem his usual enthusiastic self, making just one change until the 85th minute and painting a resigned and accepting figure on the touchline.
In contrast, the personnel was all that changed for Vitor Pereira’s Forest at Chelsea.
The momentum from nine games unbeaten remained, as did the raucous energy from the visiting fans and the belief from the start, opening the scoring through Awoniyi in the second minute and never looking back.
For that goal, Dilane Bakwa crossed for the Nigerian, and the move repeated itself 10 minutes later as Awoniyi was pulled back by Malo Gusto, referee Anthony Taylor pointing to the spot after intervention from VAR, Igor Jesus striking straight down the middle for 2-0.
Yes, Forest’s experienced core were mostly watching from the bench, but Pereira has consistently fostered positive performance out of them in high-pressure environments.
At Midtjylland, the Portuguese made nine changes from the previous league game, Forest 1-0 down from the first leg and starting elimination in the face. Similarly, for the first leg of their quarter final in Porto, nine changes were made from Forest’s 3-0 victory at Tottenham, but in both instances, Pereira’s players stepped up and delivered.
So, rather than being thrown into the deep end by Pereira, his starters against Chelsea were given the chance to build on that promise and perform with the same concentration and persistence that they had done in those instances.
The vast difference in Forest’s and Chelsea’s displays showed how important mentality is in football. The Blues have been licking their wounds for a long time, without a permanent manager, without a league win in over eight weeks and with confidence dwindling in their ownership.
Interim manager Calum McFarlane named close to his full-strength XI, a starting squad made up of over £400 million in fees paid, but they were rocked by Forest’s momentous outlook, 2-0 down and pretty much out after 15 minutes.
Something Forest are doing so well currently is fading in and out of attacking spells. Two goals and a plethora of forward play to begin the game was followed by an attacking lull, but they still asserted control of the contest defensively.
They were inventive in attack and disciplined in defence, resorting Chelsea to aiming for Cole Palmer and hoping for much of the first period. The Reds only had six shots across the whole game but still amassed an xG of 2.07, higher than the hosts’ 1.93 from 21 shots, showing that Forest create good chances and take them while limiting their opponents to scraps.
Forest’s third came eight minutes into the second half, following the surprise half-time introductions of Nikola Milenkovic, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White, the latter of whom assisted Awoniyi, who tapped in from a matter of yards after Gibbs-White was neatly found by Anderson on halfway.
Gibbs-White was forced off after a nasty collision with Chelsea ‘keeper Robert Sanchez 14 minutes later, the only potential damper to a delightful day for Forest. The midfielder has since taken to Instagram with a smile despite an array of stitches, casting doubt over his availability for that semi-final second leg on Thursday.
The collision was the second of its kind of the day, Abbott and Jesse Derry clashing heads towards the end of the first half, resulting in a Chelsea penalty in which Sels expertly kept Palmer out, a moment which summed up Chelsea’s blues and the fact it was well and truly Forest’s day.
Derry was down for over 10 minutes, but Chelsea have thankfully confirmed he is stable and talking, on what was the 18-year-old’s full Chelsea debut.
A quite spectacular consolation goal for Joao Pedro in second-half stoppage time did nothing to rain on Forest’s rampant parade, moving six points clear of West Ham in 18th with three games left to play.
What Vitor Pereira has done is quite remarkable. Forest have won five in a row, scoring 14 goals along the way, and are battling on two fronts that, upon his arrival, they were battling on neither.
Forest may have played a day later than Villa. They may have Murillo, Ibrahim Sangaré and potentially Gibbs-White out of action, and their Thursday starters may have played more football this weekend than Villa’s.
But they go to Villa Park surfing high on the wave of positivity Pereira has set them on, completely united in every way and fully believing in their ability to compete and get the job done. I certainly know which position I’d rather be in.
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