Chelsea have been dealt a slight blow to their hopes of securing a fifth-place finish in the Premier League. Nottingham Forest defeated West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon, winning three crucial points in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.
Morgan Gibbs-White fired Nuno Espirito Santo's side ahead inside the opening quarter of an hour following a mistake from Alphonse Areola. The 25-year-old midfielder intercepted a loose pass from the West Ham goalkeeper, slotting the ball into an open net.
Nikola Milenkovic doubled Forest's lead on the hour mark, latching onto a cross from Anthony Elanga. Jarrod Bowen pulled one back in the final minutes, but the Hammers couldn't find an equaliser in stoppage time.
Forest, who will face the west Londoners on the final day of the season, are now seventh in the Premier League with 65 points. Just a point separates the east Midlands outfit from Chelsea and Aston Villa in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Manchester City are sixth, also on 65 points, with two games in hand. After Forest managed to beat West Ham, there's even more pressure on the Blues to win all three points at the City Ground on Sunday, May 25.
If Chelsea fail to beat Forest, they can only hope results across the country swing in their favour. Manchester United would have to beat Aston Villa, while Fulham and Bournemouth defeat Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola's side currently have a marginally superior goal difference, so if the Blues were to lose to Forest, they can't afford City to pick up a single point. Speaking to reporters following Chelsea's win over Manchester United on Friday night, Maresca acknowledged the significance of the result.
"Very important," said the Italian. "At this stage of the season it's important to win games. We also pay attention in the way we win the game. I think tonight we struggled on the ball because we didn't expect them to be so aggressive man-to-man.
"I used to watch five, six, seven games of the other team. I've never seen them so aggressive man-to-man. So they surprised us a little by that. I think between the first half and the second half we created enough chances to deserve to win the game."
On his celebrations at full-time, Maresca said: "It's very important for sure, but the reason why I was so happy at the end is because United beat City away, drew with City at home, drew with Liverpool, drew with Arsenal.
"So they know how to play against a big team. So, I expected - drew with us away - a very tough game. The reason why I was happy was especially because we beat a team that against Arsenal, Liverpool, City, it was difficult to beat them."
Maresca added: "The focus has to be on us, because if we are able to win two games tonight and the next one, it depends on us. We don't need to watch the other results.
"They knew it was a tough game and also for them the reason why they were so happy is because it's a nice win."
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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