Chelsea 2-0 Nottingham Forest: 3 reasons why the Blues won | FA Cup 2019-20
After a 2-0 win over EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest on Sunday, Chelsea safely went through into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Frank Lampard’s side took an early lead through Callum Hudson-Odoi, who slotted in with a slick finish after just 6 minutes when he cut in from the right before firing into the bottom corner. In the 33rd minute, the young winger turned provider when his shot was parried by Forest keeper Jordan Smith, and Ross Barkley poked it home.
The game was not without VAR controversy but overall it was a commanding performance from the Blues, who should go into the next stage of the tournament with plenty of confidence.
Here are 3 reasons why Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest.
#3 Chelsea’s attacking prowess shone through
Lampard made 9 changes for this cup-tie, and even left out top scorer Tammy Abraham, but it turned out to be a decision that largely worked well. Hudson-Odoi’s opener came from a swift passing combination between Pedro, Barkley and Michy Batshuayi, none of whom have been first team regulars recently and it was the Englishman, who hasn’t played since October, who added the Blues’ second goal.
Chelsea thoroughly dominated possession in this game, ending the match with a 76% share of the ball. Thus, it came as no surprise that they had 17 shots on goal too, although only 5 of them were on target.
Clear-cut chances were admittedly hard to come by, but Lampard’s side looked bright throughout the game and his squad is deep despite their lack of experience. Essentially, Forest were always likely to struggle here due to the gap in talent between the two sides and the fact that they were heading into hostile territory at Stamford Bridge.