Chelsea’s six-minute blitz at the City Ground ends the Postecoglou era

Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 with a whirlwind start to the second half, Josh Acheampong heading in from Pedro Neto’s delivery before Neto curled home a free-kick. Reece James added a late third and, although Malo Gusto was sent off in the dying moments, the points were already secure.

Forest had dominated before the interval but failed to convert their chances, a wastefulness that proved fatal. Within minutes of full time, Ange Postecoglou was dismissed by Forest after an eighth game without a win in a 39-day tenure, with owner Evangelos Marinakis having left the directors’ box around 15 minutes into the second half.

Forest promise, squandered chances, and a souring mood

Ange Postecoglou’s selection of Taiwo Awoniyi for his first start since a serious abdominal injury that led to an induced coma last season set an urgent tone. Forest went direct to the striker: within the opening minute he scuffed a low effort away from goal, then helped create danger when Elliot Anderson lost his footing after chopping inside Josh Acheampong.

Morgan Gibbs-White twice found room between the lines, flashing one effort wide after Romeo Lavia failed to bring a square pass under control. With the City Ground rocking through a generally encouraging half, the only missing piece was the finish.

Maresca’s interval reset flips the match on its head

Chelsea laboured through that first half with a makeshift midfield, missing the injured Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez and starting Romeo Lavia. Enzo Maresca, serving a touchline ban and operating from the stands, made a triple substitution at the break that included Moises Caicedo and changed the game’s temperature at once.

Three minutes after the restart Neto raced down the left and delivered, with Murillo drawn towards Marc Guiu and Acheampong left unmarked to nod in from close range. Barely three minutes later Neto struck again, whipping a free-kick past the wall and an unsighted Matz Sels to drain the home side’s belief.

Set-piece precision, a sealing strike, and chances that went begging

Chelsea’s opener came from the remnants of a set-piece and the second was a direct free-kick; Forest’s vulnerability around restarts stung them repeatedly. Yet even at 0-2 the hosts had moments: on the hour Neco Williams volleyed over unmarked near the six-yard box, and later substitute Igor Jesus hit the bar and post in the same effort.

Reece James closed the door late on, drilling in after a corner sequence and an incomplete clearance from Sels. Postecoglou reacted swiftly with Callum Hudson-Odoi, but the change drew chants of "you don’t know what you are doing" from sections of the home support as the atmosphere curdled.

Red card, recriminations, and a swift sacking

Gusto’s late dismissal for a second yellow and Robert Sanchez’s booking for time-wasting did not affect the outcome, but they fed Chelsea’s growing discipline narrative: it was their third Premier League red card of the season and the club’s fourth dismissal in six matches, an issue Maresca must curb even on a day that featured the Premier League’s youngest starting XI of the campaign.

For Forest there was resignation as much as anger. Marinakis had already departed; results elsewhere nudged the club into the bottom three; and within minutes of the final whistle Postecoglou’s winless stint was over. The players convened a dressing-room meeting after the announcement, with a Europa League tie against Porto looming and questions about who takes charge next.