Chelsea interim head coach Calum McFarlane bemoaned an “unacceptable” opening 15 minutes after their dreadful form continued with a 3-1 home loss to Nottingham Forest.
The Blues suffered a sixth straight Premier League defeat despite Forest making eight changes ahead of the second leg of their Europa League semi-final with Aston Villa, McFarlane’s men failing to build on the performance in their FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds United.
Taiwo Awoniyi headed Forest in front in the second minute, before Igor Jesus converted a 15th-minute penalty after Malo Gusto was penalised for pulling Awoniyi’s shirt following a VAR pitchside review.
That left Chelsea with a mountain to climb and a huge chance to get back into the game went begging late in the first half when Cole Palmer saw a penalty saved by Matz Sels after a worrying clash of heads between Zach Abbott and Jesse Derry, whose first Premier League start ended with him being taken over on a stretcher.
Awoniyi doubled his tally to make it 3-0 following great play from Morgan Gibbs-White, who later went off with a head injury following a collision with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who also had to be substituted.
That ended the game as a contest, though Joao Pedro scored a spectacular overhead kick consolation, with Chelsea’s latest defeat leaving them ninth, still 10 points outside of the top five ahead of next week’s trip to Liverpool.
“The first 15 minutes were unacceptable,” McFarlane told his post-match press conference.
“The manner of the two goals conceded really set us back and gave us a mountain to climb.”
McFarlane: Chelsea cannot start like this
Asked to explain the losing run, McFarlane added: “It’s a ruthless game, it’s a really high level. We cannot start games in the Premier League like this.
“We’re training tomorrow, we’ll review the game and try to find a reason why and try to make sure the performance level is higher against Liverpool in five days’ time.”
Chelsea could still qualify for the Champions League if they finish sixth and Villa finish fifth while winning the Europa League.
Such a finish is looking increasingly unlikely, however, with Chelsea now four points behind sixth-placed Bournemouth.
“I know the group, I have done for a little while,” McFarlane said when asked about the prospect of missing out on the Champions League. “They are driven and want the best for this club and we will do our best to win every game between now and the end of the season.”
The most concerning aspect of the afternoon for Chelsea was the injury suffered by Derry, who received several minutes of treatment on the pitch before being taken off.
Chelsea subsequently released a statement confirming the 18-year-old was conscious and talking but had been taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
“We’re hearing positive signs from Jesse and Rob,” McFarlane added of the head injuries suffered by the pair. “I hope the Forest players are okay as well. He [Derry] performed well on the pitch but there are more important things to focus on right now.”
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