Before kick-off, a giant banner dangled from the upper tier of the Trent End, an oversized mock brown tourist sign. “Destination: Europe,” it read. Below that, a flag of a camper van with Nottingham Forest scarves flickering out of the windows.
At the end of a magnificent season for Forest, the only disappointment was that all roads from here lead to the Conference League and not the Champions League, in which Chelsea will play next season after two years away. First, however, for Enzo Maresca and his players is a trip to Wroclaw, to navigate a final against Real Betis in the competition Forest will grace for the first time next season.
This was a priceless victory for Chelsea. Forest, meanwhile, may never know the value of victory. Results elsewhere were relayed over the speakers as the players headed for the tunnel at half-time, though Maresca said the first he knew of the goings-on at Old Trafford and beyond were when his assistant, Willy Caballero, informed him that Manchester United had doubled their lead against Aston Villa with only a few minutes left to run.
The galling thing for Forest was victory would have enabled them to qualify for the Champions League at Newcastle’s expense. Nuno Espírito Santo was left wondering what might have been. “It is tough to take,” the Forest manager said.
“We knew the last game was going to be very difficult for the last teams involved in this fight and we came up short. We knew one goal could change everything and this is what it does to you. You think: ‘What if?’”
For Forest, it was impossible to avoid the universal sense of anticlimax, despite returning to Europe for the first time since reaching the quarter-finals of the Uefa Cup under Frank Clark in 1995-96.
In the end, the biggest boost of the day probably arrived 15 minutes before kick-off, when Taiwo Awoniyi emerged from the tunnel. The striker, who required urgent abdominal surgery and was placed in an induced coma after colliding with a post here against Leicester a fortnight ago, was given a hero’s welcome, tapping his chest and applauding all four sides of this stadium after strolling on to the pitch.
Any sense of disappointment did not linger long in the stands. There was a racket as the players returned to the pitch for a lap of appreciation, Matz Sels receiving a huge cheer after sharing the golden glove award with Arsenal’s David Raya, the pair both keeping 13 clean sheets. Then Nikola Milenkovic picked up the club’s player of the season prize as Rockin’ All Over the World blared over the speakers. “I would give it to all of them,” a proud Nuno said. “It is not player of the season, it is team of the season, squad of the season. Now we have to rest – and deservedly so.”
This was a game of few openings but when the ball landed at the feet of Levi Colwill, after Pedro Neto was played in on goal, the Chelsea defender made no mistake, side‑footing in the only goal of the game to confirm Maresca’s side will return to Uefa’s elite competition.
Colwill does not score many goals – this just his second of the season, his other coming in March against his hometown club Southampton – but this strike was as valuable as they come. Marc Cucurella recycled Cole Palmer’s cross, headed away by Murillo, and Neco Williams inadvertently nodded the ball into Neto’s path. Neto could not direct his effort goalwards but Colwill was free at the back post to convert from close range. Conscious of the gravity of things, a cussing Nuno shook his head on the sidelines.
Forest’s first real chance came a couple of minutes before the interval, Chris Wood volleying over from the former Chelsea defender Ola Aina’s cross. Robert Sánchez asked questions of his defence but, in truth, Forest failed to quiz Chelsea any further until the eight minutes of stoppage time.
Forest tried to force the issue, throwing numbers forward, Colwill making an unforced error to give away a corner. The hosts created a final opening in the 94th minute when Sels, from inside the Chelsea half, looked for Wood. The Forest striker cushioned the ball superbly on his thigh but, under pressure from Tosin Adarabioyo, he could not keep his shot down and spooned over.
“[Manchester] City lost here, Arsenal drew here, Liverpool drew here … and Chelsea won,” a smiling Maresca said. Then came the real mic-drop moment, a word for the doubters. “So in English, how do you say? Eff-off to all of them.”
