Josh Acheampong opened the scoring as Chelsea defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the City Ground
15:08, 18 Oct 2025Updated 15:25, 18 Oct 2025
Pedro Neto
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Pedro Neto has spoke highly of Josh Acheampong
Pedro Neto's bold claim about Josh Acheampong has come to light after the youngster scored his first senior goal for Chelsea in their 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
The 19-year-old opened the scoring shortly after the break, meeting a delightful cross from Neto with a headed finish. At full-time, the Portuguese star praised Acheampong's performance and revealed what the advice he had given him.
"No, he can be a top talent," Neto told TNT Sports at full-time. "I think he has to continue to work.
"I'm always on him, joking with him that he needs to be more aggressive, more aggressive, more aggressive, and he's done a fantastic job, and I'm really happy for him."
Meanwhile, Reece James, added: "He's still so young, he's played a decent amount of games. He's still so young and he's got a super bright future. He'll kick on for sure."
Acheampong thanked the Blues skipper for his support during his transition from the youth setup to the senior squad.
Josh Acheampong
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Josh Acheampong heads the opener for Chelsea(Image: SmartFrame/News Images)
"It's an inspiration knowing that you can come from the academy and get into the first time," the defender said. "So I'm also grateful for Reece and all the other academy players, they give me a lot of support, so it's good."
Enzo Maresca, who watched the game from the stands due to a one-match ban, was pleased with his team’s performance. "I think he [Guiu] was on for 50 minutes against Liverpool and was very good," he told reporters.
"After one minute he won a corner today. We need that from Marc. And Josh, I really like Josh. We showed him confidence last season. He is doing well. It's important that he is ready when others are out.
"He [Josh] needs to improve, for sure. It's our duty as coaching staff to help players improve. We are working every day to try and improve him and the team.
The result sees Chelsea climb to sixth place in the Premier League table on 14 points. However, with the 3pm Saturday kick-offs underway, their position could change by the end of the day.
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For Forest, the defeat proved to be the final straw for Ange Postecoglou, with the club announcing his departure just minutes after the full-time whistle. The Australian manager was in charge for only eight games and failed to record a single win.
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