Nottingham Forest won their first game at Stamford Bridge since January 1995, beating Chelsea 1-0 at the weekend, their second away win in the Premier League since promotion.
Anthony Elanga, Forest’s new man from Manchester United, broke the deadlock three minutes after the restart, the goal beautifully taken after a superb pass from Taiwo Awoniyi.
1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner with the Super Eagles, Efan Ekoku has urged fans to be patient with the Premier League’s most expensive signing in history, Moisés Caicedo, who was largely at fault for Nottingham Forest’s match-winning goal.
There was a moment of confusion in the build-up to the goal as Caicedo gave the ball away after a poor touch which put the Chelsea defence under pressure and Awoniyi slipped the ball to Elanga through the legs of Thiago Silva.
Thirty minutes into his competitive debut and with Chelsea trailing 2-1, the Ecuadorian midfielder made a costly mistake when he fouled Emerson Palmieri in the box and Lucas Paqueta converted the resultant penalty in stoppage time to end any hopes of a Chelsea comeback.
Chelsea also brought in Roméo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer, Lesley Ugochukwu, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Robert Sanchez, Djordje Petrovic and Deivid Washington in the summer transfer window but most of the new signings have not lived up to the billing.
“With all these new signings to be honest, whether you are an established player already in the Premier League or not, patience is required,” Ekoku, who was on commentary duties for the Premier League world feed, said.
“Caicedo has not had a great start to his Chelsea career, partly responsible for the giveaway that led to the goal that Forest have.”
With six points from four matches played, Nottingham Forest have moved into the top ten, ahead of Chelsea.
