Latest Nottingham Forest player ratings as Ange Postecoglou's Reds beaten 3-0 by Chelsea at the City Ground
14:29, 18 Oct 2025
Sarah Clapson is Nottingham Forest correspondent for NottinghamshireLive and the Nottingham Post. She has covered the Reds since 2015, having joined the Post the previous year. Being involved in the coverage of everything from Evangelos Marinakis’ takeover of the club to Forest winning promotion at Wembley, she has followed the team up and down the country, as well as abroad, to report on the latest goings-on.
Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi is tackled by Chelsea's Josh Acheampong (left) during the Premier League match at the City Ground
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Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi is tackled by Chelsea's Josh Acheampong (left) during the Premier League match at the City Ground
Another Nottingham Forest defeat piled the pressure on head coach Ange Postecoglou as his team fell 3-0 at home to Chelsea.
The 60-year-old was under significant scrutiny going into the lunchtime clash. Without a win from his first seven games in charge, there had been much talk about his future and several prospective candidates linked with the post during the international break.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis had much to ponder during the fortnight hiatus. The clash with Chelsea might not have been quite win or bust for Postecoglou, but it is understood the Greek businessman was keen to see evidence of progress being made with a good performance.
Reds fans would perhaps take a bit more convincing about the man in the hot seat. Many doubted the suitability of the former Tottenham Hotspur boss’ appointment in the first place, and results had done little to persuade them otherwise.
The last time Forest were at the City Ground, supporters had not held back in making their feelings clear. The atmosphere turned ugly during the 3-2 Europa League defeat to FC Midtjylland a few weeks ago, with the home crowd chanting about Postecoglou getting the sack.
The 60-year-old was, at least, boosted by the return of Murillo, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Douglas Luiz from injury for the meeting with the Blues. But he still named something of a surprise starting XI with Taiwo Awoniyi brought in from the cold and summer signings James McAtee, Arnaud Kalimuendo, Dilane Bakwa and Omari Hutchinson - upwards of £100 million of attacking talent - all omitted from the match day squad entirely. It was a gamble from the man in the dugout, and he needed it to pay off.
It almost did inside the first minute when Awoniyi was through on goal after pouncing on a loose pass. The front man couldn’t find the finish, though, and sent his effort wide of the far post.
Still, it set the tone for the hosts and they carved out some promising openings early on. Morgan Gibbs-White had the best of them just before the 20-minute mark but fired off target after being teed up by Awoniyi, who had mopped up another sloppy Chelsea pass.
The Reds were playing some lovely football and certainly had the upper hand. They just could not make it count as they fell short in the final third of the pitch.
Fortunately for Forest, the visitors were unable to punish that profligacy before the break. Ex-Reds loanee Andrey Santos had a couple of chances in the space of three minutes late on in the half but put them both off target.
It was a different story after the interval. Chelsea made a triple change and quickly took a healthy lead with two goals in three minutes.
Josh Acheampong headed the Blues in front from Pedro Neto’s cross in the 49th minute. Neto then quickly got on the scoresheet himself when he sent the ball past Matz Sels from a free-kick. Marinakis apparently vacated his seat in the stands soon after, presumably having seen enough.
The Reds had opportunities to reduce the deficit as they mounted a decent response to going behind. Neco Williams, Nikola Milenkovic and Ibrahim Sangare all went close in the space of a few minutes, before Igor Jesus saw an effort bounce off the underside of the crossbar.
Unable to put the ball in the back of the net, Forest then saw Reece James wrap up the three points for the Blues right at the death. Chelsea finished the match with 10 men when Malo Gusto was sent off for a second bookable offence, but it mattered little by that point. Here’s how Reds reporter Sarah Clapson rated the Forest players at the City Ground.
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Matz Sels: Those days of regular clean-sheets must seem like a distant memory for the Belgian. Ought to have done better for Chelsea’s second; the Sels of last season might have stopped that one. Rating: 5/10
Nikola Milenkovic: Good with the ball in a positive first half and wasn’t far off getting the Reds back into the game after they had gone 2-0 down. Forest urgently need to get to grips with defending crosses and set-pieces, though. Rating: 5.5/10
Morato: Had settled down after a shaky start and contributed to a solid first half. It all fell apart after the break, though, and the Brazilian was beaten in the air by Acheampong for the opening goal. Rating: 5/10
Murillo: A positive to have the centre-back fit again, even if he did make way with 15 minutes to go. Looked to find his passing range in a first half where Forest played well. Defensive organisation went out the window after the break, however. Rating: 5.5/10
Neco Williams: Dealt well with the threat of Alejandro Garnacho in the opening 45 minutes as the Reds looked steady. Spurned a huge chance to give his team something to build on at 2-0 down. Rating: 6/10
Ibrahim Sangare: Midfield set-up worked well before the break, and the former PSV man definitely played his part in that. Just as guilty as other members of the team when it came to not being able to finish, though. Rating: 6.5/10
Douglas Luiz: A huge boost for the Reds to have the midfielder available again. He has been a big miss in recent games, and he showed why against the Blues. Such a classy player. Fans didn’t like seeing him come off. Rating: 7/10
Elliot Anderson: Had a big opening early on but passed up the opportunity to shoot first time. Summed up one of the key issues Forest need to address as they search for goals. Otherwise, gave his all - as always. Rating: 6.5/10
Oleksandr Zinchenko: Teed up Williams with a nice cross after the break. Forest needed more of that. Still looks a little vulnerable defensively, however. Rating: 5/10
Morgan Gibbs-White: Somehow, the Reds need to get the attacker back to his best. Had two good chances in the first half. One was easier than the other, but he couldn’t find the target on either occasion. Rating: 5.5/10
Taiwo Awoniyi: Hadn’t started a game since April 1 before being a surprise inclusion in the XI. Did pretty well considering his lack of recent minutes; certainly held the ball up effectively. Could have been a different game had he put his chance away early on. Rating: 6.5/10
Subs
Igor Jesus (for Awoniyi, 46mins): Desperately unlucky to see his effort bounce off the underside of the bar with 20 minutes to go. Would have given the Reds something to cling to, had that gone in. Rating: 6.5/10
Callum Hudson-Odoi (for Luiz, 53mins): Tried his best to create something when he came on. Set up Jesus with a good cross and kept going until the end. Rating: 6.5/10
Chris Wood (for Zinchenko, 74mins): Didn’t really get into the game during his time on the pitch. It was pretty much over with by then anyway. Rating: 6/10
Nicolo Savona (for Murillo, 74mins): Forest switched to a back four when the summer signing was introduced. It didn’t make a great deal of difference, though. Rating: 6/10
Subs not used: John, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, Jair.
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