Nottingham Forest 0–1 Chelsea: Player Ratings As Blues Secure Fourth Place on Final Day

Sports Illustrated FC

·25 de maio de 2025

Nottingham Forest 0–1 Chelsea: Player Ratings As Blues Secure Fourth Place on Final Day

Chelsea finished fourth in the final Premier League table and will play in next season’s Champions League after Sunday’s 1–0 over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Both sides had a chance at the start of the game of getting one of the all-important top five places, but Enzo Maresca’s Blues got the job done in the end.

Vídeos OneFootball

Levi Colwill’s close-range finish early in the second half was the difference between the sides, and Chelsea could yet add a European trophy to their achievements on the campaign when they contest the Conference League final against Real Betis in Poland on Wednesday.

Forest will be disappointed by the result, failing to ask enough questions of Chelsea in front of their own fans. But they have qualified for Europe themselves by securing a final position of seventh, and will be in the 2025–26 Conference League.

Considering what was riding on the game, it wasn’t exactly an enthralling contest through the opening half-hour. The home side started on the front foot, but in the first 29 minutes, the only effort either outfit had mustered at goal was a header put well wide by Forest striker Chris Wood.

But then Pedro Neto really ought to have given Chelsea the lead. The Portuguese forward was in the right place at the right time to meet Cole Palmer’s pass into the box, yet proved to be unable to adjust his feet in time, firing the ball over the top from only a few yards out.

Moments before halftime, Forest responded with the best chance they’d created. Ola Aina’s cross from the right was inviting for Wood, who beat Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sánchez to the ball, but with too much contact it missed the target.

After a forgettable first half, Chelsea started the second 45 much brighter, which directly contributed to them taking the lead within few minutes of the restart. It wasn’t great defending from Forest, not properly clearing their lines to allow Chelsea to recycle the chance quickly, and then failing to cut out a floated pass into the path of Neto. He managed to reach it before goalkeeper Matz Sels, squaring for an unmarked Colwilll to turn the ball in at the far post.

Suddenly faced with needing two goals to have even a chance of a top five finish and the Champions League qualification it would bring, Forest needed to up the ante. Anthony Elanga had a shot saved, while Aina missed the target from distance.

There was another comfortable save from Sánchez to deny Elanga with around 15 minutes left to play, but Chelsea did more than enough to keep Forest at bay. Maresca even instructed his team into a back five in the closing stages of the match.

Wood missed the target on the stretch in stoppage time when it looked like he was about to pull a goal back, while more threatening balls in the dying moments were defensively dealt with.