**Josh Acheampong’s first senior goal sparked a second-half flurry which helped Chelsea to victory at the City Ground.**
The Blues were outplayed in the first half but stunned Ange Postecoglou’s struggling side with two quick goals after the break.
Acheampong’s 49th-minute header opened the scoring, before Pedro Neto doubled the lead.
Reece James added a third late on to make sure of the points and punish a Forest side that could have scored two or three goals themselves.
Chelsea ended the match with 10 men after Malo Gusto was sent off late on.
Chelsea’s midfield, without Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, was unsettled from the start. The centre-back pairing of Trevoh Chalobah and Acheampong was also shaky.
Forest’s Eliot Anderson was gifted a chance inside 10 minutes, before Morgan Gibbs-White whipped an effort wide when the ball was given away cheaply.
They pushed for an opener as the break approached, and Andrey Santos had two sights of goal before Neto then curled over the bar from long range.
Enzo Maresca, who watched from the stands as he served a touchline ban, shuffled his pack at half-time with a triple substitution that introduced Caicedo, Jamie Gittens and Marc Guiu.
The impact was almost instant and a rejuvenated Chelsea broke the deadlock when Acheampong nodded in from a fantastic Neto cross.
Neto then stood over a dangerous free-kick with James, and drilled past Matz Sels from the edge of the box when the ball was rolled into his path.
Joao Pedro hit the side netting as the visitors threatened a third, while Guiu saw an effort blocked by Sels.
The game opened up as Forest chased a goal, and the hosts came close to pulling one back when Igor Jesus’s acrobatic effort hit the woodwork and bounced off the line.
But Chelsea wrapped up the win when Sels failed to properly deal with Estevao’s corner, and James marked his 200th appearance for the club by sweeping the ball into the net in the closing stages.
Gusto was sent off in the 86th minute when he picked up a second yellow card for a silly challenge. The game was already won, but his dismissal was Chelsea’s fifth in the past six matches.
**Chelsea:** Sanchez, James, Acheampong (Tosin 80), Chalobah, Cucurella, Gusto, Lavia (Caicedo 45), Neto (Estevao 77), Andrey Santos (Guiu 45), Garnacho (Gittens 45), Joao Pedro.
Subs not used: Jorgensen, Hato, Buonanotte, George.
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