Nottingham Forest crush Chelsea in Premier League match marred by four head injuries

Nottingham Forest secured a vital 3-1 triumph at Stamford Bridge on Monday, dealing Chelsea their sixth successive Premier League loss despite fielding a heavily rotated squad.

Forest manager Vitor Pereira rested eight players ahead of Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg against Aston Villa, yet his reserves proved more than capable of claiming three points.

Taiwo Awoniyi netted twice whilst Igor Jesus also found the target as the visitors moved six points clear of the relegation zone.

The defeat marked interim boss Calum McFarlane's first home fixture since replacing the sacked Liam Rosenior, following his FA Cup semi-final victory over Leeds United.

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The visitors wasted no time establishing their dominance, with Awoniyi left completely unmarked to head in Dilane Bakwa's floated delivery after just two minutes, the winger having outpaced Marc Cucurella down the flank.

Bakwa and Awoniyi combined once more in the 15th minute, this time winning a spot-kick when Malo Gusto hauled down the Nigerian striker as he chased another cross into the box.

Following a VAR review, Igor Jesus stepped up and sent his penalty straight down the middle, with Gusto perhaps fortunate to escape with only a foul rather than a dismissal for his challenge.

The match was marred by a concerning head injury to 18-year-old academy winger Jesse Derry during his maiden senior start, following a collision with Zach Abbott that halted play for six minutes and saw both youngsters withdrawn.

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Chelsea were awarded a penalty from the incident, but Cole Palmer's effort towards the corner was kept out by Matz Sels, who dived at full stretch to deny the England international.

Liam Delap and Levi Colwill entered at the interval, yet Forest extended their advantage seven minutes after the restart when Awoniyi converted Morgan Gibbs-White's low delivery from close range.

Gibbs-White himself was subsequently involved in another nasty aerial collision, this time with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, leaving both players requiring treatment for head wounds before being substituted.

Joao Pedro had a late strike chalked off for offside but made amends in added time with a stunning bicycle kick, finally ending Chelsea's barren run that had stretched beyond 550 minutes without a league goal since early March.

The result leaves Forest in 16th position with their top-flight status looking increasingly secure.

Chelsea remain ninth, sitting 10 points adrift of the Champions League qualification places they had targeted at the campaign's outset.

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