Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea: Levi Colwill earns Blues return to Champions League on final day | OneFootball

Forest will play in the Conference League next season

But the Blues came out for the second-half on the front foot and got their reward, as Pedro Neto squared to leave Colwill a tap-in after Forest failed to clear a corner.

With Newcastle and Aston Villa trailing elsewhere, the tension for Chelsea was not as intense as it might otherwise have been, though it left Forest in the knowledge that victory would be enough for them to secure a top-five finish.

But a comeback never appeared to be on the cards as Chelsea eased towards the final whistle, and ensured the Champions League anthem will play out at Stamford Bridge next season for the first time since the 2022/23 campaign.

uno Espirito Santo's side were able to win only one of their last five games, but their season will be seen as a success once the disappointment subsides.

Forest were given a lift before kick-off when stricken striker Taiwo Awoniyi was paraded on the pitch two weeks after he suffered a serious abdominal injury during the 2-2 draw with Leicester which left him in an induced coma.

The home crowd soon turned their attention to Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who has been banned by Forest for his comments about owner Evangelos Marinakis after the Greek businessman confronted boss Nuno Espirito Santo on the pitch.

Forest knew their mission and started with intensity but they found clear-cut chances hard to come by in a game that was initially short on goalmouth action.

Chelsea had the first real chance in the 30th minute when Cole Palmer's inviting cross was poked over from close range.

Forest had an almost identical chance on the stroke of half-time as Chris Wood got to Ola Aina's cross ahead of Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez but his effort whistled just over.

The home side were boosted at the interval when news of Aston Villa's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez's red card at Manchester United came through, but they were quickly deflated after the restart.

They failed to clear a Palmer cross properly and Neto slipped the ball across goal to give Colwill the easiest of tap-ins at the far post.

Forest had plenty of time to find two goals, but they never really looked like finding one.

They huffed and puffed and became frustrated by Chelsea's ability to break the game up.

Wood had a glorious chance to get set up a grandstand finale deep into injury time but he fired over after brilliantly controlling Matz Sels' long ball.

Their fans serenaded them at the end of the match, but the sense that this was a missed opportunity was palpable.

Additional reporting by PA Sport.