Ben Fisher was at the City Ground. Here’s his report. Congratulations to Chelsea, who will enjoy the Champions League next season; commiserations to Nottingham Forest, who will have the consolation of the Conference League; and thanks to you for reading this MBM.
Here’s how the final Premier League table looks. Chelsea ended up in fourth, and will compete in the Champions League with Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle United. Aston Villa go into the Europa League along with FA Cup winners Crystal Palace. Nottingham Forest will play in the Conference League.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 38 | 45 | 84 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 35 | 74 |
| 3 | Man City | 38 | 28 | 71 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 38 | 21 | 69 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 38 | 21 | 66 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 7 | 66 |
| 7 | Nottm Forest | 38 | 12 | 65 |
| 8 | Brighton | 38 | 7 | 61 |
| 9 | AFC Bournemouth | 38 | 12 | 56 |
| 10 | Brentford | 38 | 9 | 56 |
| 11 | Fulham | 38 | 0 | 54 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 0 | 53 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -2 | 48 |
| 14 | West Ham | 38 | -16 | 43 |
| 15 | Man Utd | 38 | -10 | 42 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton | 38 | -15 | 42 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | -1 | 38 |
| 18 | Leicester | 38 | -47 | 25 |
| 19 | Ipswich | 38 | -46 | 22 |
| 20 | Southampton | 38 | -60 | 12 |
Levi Colwill – SWEARY ALERT! – talks to Sky Sports. “Amazing … the best thing I’ve ever seen … we’ve grinded it out all season and today for these fans … we hope they’re happy and get to see some Champions League next season … when I scored I couldn’t lose all my composure … I had to stay calm … we got our reward … you’ve got to fight to be the best … that’s what we’ve been doing … I was calm … it was pretty simple, we had to win … we did it and we’re proud … as a club, we’re back where we should be … we got to prove ourselves … everyone’s been talking a lot of shit about us this season, but we’ve done it!”
Chelsea leap around as one in celebration. They deserve their reward after today’s performance, having showed a maturity beyond their collective years. Enzo Marseca, who has taken some flak for his methodical approach this season, will feel fully vindicated by his club’s return to the big time. The colour drains from a few Nottingham Forest faces, meanwhile. Their dream of competing in Europe’s premier competition for the first time since defending the trophy back in 1980-81 is over. They simply didn’t show up today and were throughly second best, although that won’t stop Chris Wood thinking about the two close-range chances he skied. This will sting for a while, but when the pain subsides, they’ll fancy their chances of glory in the Conference League. It’s no consolation right now, but they’d have grabbed that with both hands at the start of the season.
FULL TIME: Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea
Chelsea will compete in next season’s Champions League! Nottingham Forest must make do with an appearance in the Conference League.
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90 min +7: Anderson barges his way down the left and flashes a shot-cum-cross through the six-yard box. But nobody in red can force the ball home, and Sanchez fingertips it towards Dewsbury-Hall, who lashes clear.
90 min +6: Wood has had two big chances from six yards today. He’s flayed both miles over the crossbar. Had both gone in, Forest would be back in Europe’s premier competition … but it wasn’t to be. The slim margins between success and failure.
90 min +4: Another chance for Wood! Sels launches it long. Adarabioyo misjudges the flight of the ball and it drops to Wood, six yards out. He’s only got Sanchez to beat, but leans back and hoicks over the bar.
90 min +3: Colwill slices a dreadful clearance behind for a corner. But the set piece is easily dealt with.
90 min +2: … but Forest really don’t look like scoring one, never mind the two they need. They’ve created next to nothing today. One chance for Wood in the first half, and that’s that. Chelsea have looked completely comfortable since taking the lead. Their young side have handled the pressure extremely well today.
90 min: Palmer eventually restarts the game, and he and James keep the ball in the corner awhile. The clock not Forest’s friend. Having said that … there will be eight additional minutes. Time for two goals! The City Ground roars. One last push.
89 min: Lavia has a bash from distance. The ball takes a nick off a defender and flies over the bar. It’ll be a corner, and Palmer is in no rush to take it.
88 min: James tries to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick. Elanga hassles him, though, and plays the ball off the defender to earn a corner out of nothing. Elanga swings it in himself, long, and Milenkovic wins a header at the far post, but can’t get it on target. It’s blocked, and there’s a brief melee, but eventually the ball squeaks through to Sanchez.
87 min: Madueke is replaced by Dewsbury-Hall.
86 min: Gibbs-White floats a ball into the Chelsea box from the left. Yates heads down, hoping to tee up Wood, but the flag pops up for offside. Forest have created very little today.
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85 min: Madueke nearly sashays into space down the inside-left channel, but overruns the ball on the edge of the box. Sels claims.
83 min: Forest may as well roll the dice, and sacrifice Aina for Silva.
82 min: Manchester United have taken the lead against Aston Villa. Again, that doesn’t change things for Forest, in so much as they still need two goals for the win. But if they somehow find them, with both Villa and Newcastle losing, they’d definitely make the Champions League.
80 min: Aina is booked for a late clank on Cucurella, and then Adarabioyo follows him into the referee’s notepad for telling it as he sees it.
78 min: Gusto comes on for Neto.
77 min: Elanga decides he’ll go for goal instead, but his effort is weak and straight at Sanchez.
76 min: Gibbs-White is caught late by Colwill, 30 yards out in a central position. Probably too far out for Murillo to have a whack, but these are desperate times for Forest, so let’s see.
74 min: There’s not a lot going on at the moment. Chelsea in complete control, Forest getting a little agitated, the home fans extremely quiet. Not that this is how supporters do or should rationalise things, but the Conference League offers a better chance of silverware, doesn’t it?
72 min: As things stand, Chelsea are in fourth spot. Forest will finish the season in seventh place, and contest next year’s Uefa Conference League.
70 min: Everton have taken a shock lead at Newcastle. That doesn’t make any difference to Forest at the moment; they still need two goals for the win, and then they can assess their Champions League hopes from there.
68 min: Dominguez can’t continue. He looks in pain and close to tears as he’s helped off. Forest midfield stalwart – and club captain - Yates replaces him.
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66 min: Madueke catches Dominguez on the back of the leg with his studs. That’s not a great challenge, but it looked more careless than aggressive. The referee isn’t of a mind to take any action, but both players need treatment as a result of their entanglement.
64 min: Palmer goes down holding his right ankle. Play stops awhile, but there’s no need for the trainer to come on. He gets back up.
63 min: Another Forest corner, this time from the left, leads to a game of head tennis in the Chelsea box. The visitors can’t clear their lines properly, but Aina lets them off the hook by larruping a wild shot high over the bar.
62 min: Sancho is replaced by Lavia, Enzo Maresca presumably opting to keep hold of what he has by shoring things up.
61 min: Palmer has a speculative dig from a tight-ish angle on the left. Easy pickings for Golden Gloves.
60 min: A corner for Forest down the right. Elanga sends it in, but Sanchez claims easily. Speaking of keepers, here’s some good news for Forest. Or Matz Sels, anyway. Arsenal keeper David Raya has conceded a goal at Southampton, so both players will end the season tied on 13 clean sheets, sharing the Golden Glove.
58 min: A ball looped long towards the Chelsea box. Dominguez heads it on. Wood is clear, but lamps the dropping ball miles over the bar. The offside flag goes up, correctly, to spare Wood’s blushes.
57 min: Hudson-Odoi, formerly of Chelsea, comes on for Sangare.
56 min: Caicedo is booked for clipping Elanga’s ankle.
54 min: Palmer crosses from the left. The ball pings off Aina for a corner. Forest manage to deal with the set piece, but they’re in a state at the moment. They need to clear their heads quickly, because another Chelsea goal in short order will surely put the Champions League out of their reach.
53 min: Neto dribbles purposefully down the inside-left channel and nearly busts through the Forest back line. A combination of Williams, Murillo and Milenkovic manages to crowd him out. Just.
52 min: Colwill disappears into the Chelsea fans behind the goal. They’re all going wild. The rest of the City Ground stunned. They need two goals now if they’re to make the Champions League.
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea (Colwill 50)
Palmer crosses from a deep position on the left. It’s half cleared. Cucurella loops it back into the mixer. Williams heads weakly backwards. The ball drops to Neto on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. With Sels and all members of his defence attracted to the ball, Neto dinks it across the face of goal, and the unmarked Colwill can’t miss from a couple of yards out!
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49 min: Space for Palmer down the left. He hooks into the middle and wins a corner off Milenkovic. Neto saunters over to take it. He plays it short to Palmer, and …
48 min: Chelsea would like a goal to make sure, as well, and to this end Sancho and Cucurella try to one-two their way down the left. Sels comes off his line to smother and put an end to their scheme.
47 min: Forest need a goal, so they fly out of the traps, Williams looking to release Elanga down the left. Elanga can’t control the long ball and runs it out of play. An early sign that Forest don’t want to die wondering.
The teams finally re-emerge at Old Trafford … and so they also show themselves again at the City Ground. Chelsea get the second half underway. No changes.
That red card for Emi Martinez, late in the first half, has had a knock-on effect all across the country. The Premier League are determined to start all of the second halves in sync, so the added time at Old Trafford means everyone’s waiting for Manchester United and Aston Villa to finish their half-time oranges. We’ll be off again in a minute or two.
As it stands at the break. In the other matches affecting the hopes and dreams of Forest and Chelsea, Manchester City are winning 1-0 at Fulham, Aston Villa are drawing 0-0 at Manchester United, and Newcastle United are drawing 0-0 at home to Everton. But the big news is that Emi Martinez has been sent off for Villa, as Rob Smyth, helming the final-day Clockwatch, explains below. So it’s potentially on for Forest … if they can find a goal. This news may also convince Chelsea to play it safe.
A big twist in the Champions League race. Cash’s wretched backpass is seized upon by Hojlund, who is inexplicably wiped out by Martinez 25 yards from goal. Hojlund would probably have scored but it wasn’t a sure thing from a tightish angle on the left.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 38 | 44 | 83 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 35 | 74 |
| 3 | Man City | 38 | 27 | 71 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 38 | 22 | 67 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 38 | 20 | 67 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 38 | 9 | 67 |
| 7 | Nottm Forest | 38 | 13 | 66 |
| 8 | Brentford | 38 | 10 | 58 |
| 9 | Brighton | 38 | 3 | 58 |
| 10 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 1 | 55 |
| 11 | AFC Bournemouth | 38 | 10 | 54 |
| 12 | Fulham | 38 | 1 | 54 |
| 13 | Everton | 38 | -3 | 46 |
| 14 | West Ham | 38 | -17 | 43 |
| 15 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 3 | 41 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton | 38 | -16 | 41 |
| 17 | Man Utd | 38 | -12 | 40 |
| 18 | Leicester | 38 | -45 | 26 |
| 19 | Ipswich | 38 | -45 | 22 |
| 20 | Southampton | 38 | -60 | 12 |
HALF TIME: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Chelsea
Neto missed a big chance from six yards. So did Wood. Other than that, it’s been a whole load of nothing.
Updated
45 min +1: Cucurella puts his arm around the in-flight Elanga’s waist and should go into the book, but the referee’s feeling generous.
45 min: Sangare’s cute pass down the right touchline releases Aina into acres. Aina passes infield to Gibbs-White, who tries to release Elanga into the box down the inside-right flank, but clanks his pass straight to Adarabioyo. It was the harder pass on, with Wood completely free to his left.
43 min: Dominguez slips Aina into space down the right. Aina sends a low teaser into the middle. Wood beats Sanchez to the cross, but in flicking the ball over the keeper, the striker flicks the ball over the bar as well. One big chance apiece now.
41 min: Elanga drives hard down the left, enters the box, and flops over. It’s not exactly a dive, but Palmer, standing right beside him, doesn’t get much of the ball when he makes a challenge either. The referee’s not interested, which is probably right on balance.
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39 min: Chelsea have done a proper number on the atmosphere. They’ll be more than happy with the way they’ve taken control of this, albeit in a slightly sterile style.
37 min: … and to illustrate this state of affairs, Sky flash up a stat which says Chelsea have had 77 percent of possession in the last ten minutes.
36 min: … and now they slow things down. The City Ground is a little quieter as a result.
34 min: Chelsea are beginning to see more of the ball. They’re not doing a great deal with it, however.
32 min: Anderson certainly means it when he slides recklessly into Madueke. He’s rightly booked for the late and clumsy tackle.
31 min: Anderson mishits a cross from the left, and for a second it looks like it’s floating into the top-right corner. Sanchez backtracks in a panic but it’s floating wide. Or hold on, did Anderson actually mean that? He might have spotted Sanchez off his line and meant that, you know.
30 min: Make that four, as Madueke rolls the ball to Palmer on the right. Palmer enters the box and crosses. Neto, six yards out, sidefoots wildly over the bar. Huge chance. Chelsea heads in hands.
29 min: … so having said that, Fernandez is thrown out of the way by Murillo as he waits to receive the ball just to the right of the Forest box. Free kick. Now it’s Chelsea’s turn to load the opposition box. James hoicks it into the mixer but Sangare heads clear. Chelsea still on two touches in the Forest box.
27 min: A bit of space for Palmer down the left. He cuts back into the centre, but there’s nobody there in blue. Chelsea aren’t offering much in attack so far. They’ve only had 43 percent of possession and two touches in the Forest box.
25 min: … and then when the corner’s finally sent in, Milenkovic is penalised for clattering into Adarabioyo. What a waste of everyone's time.
24 min: Before the corner can be taken, Fernandez needs a little bit of treatment. He’s fine to continue. Before Elanga takes, there’s a bout of over-enthusiastic wrestling, and the referee whistles so he can deliver the what-for.
23 min: Elanga crosses low and hard from the right. Dominguez can’t connect at the near post. The ball’s half-cleared, and Aina crosses from the right this time. Wood’s sheer presence forces Colwill into heading behind for a Forest corner.
21 min: Neto brushes Williams off the ball with ease down the right. He reaches the byline only for his cross to be harmlessly deflected into the arms of Sels. Williams thinks he was fouled, and he might have had a point, Neto shoving him in the back. Had that led to a goal, VAR would have had a decision to make. But we’re all good. Nothing to see here.
19 min: Colwill skittles Elanga out on the left and it’s a free kick, a chance for Forest to load the Chelsea box. Anderson floats it long, but Murillo is caught offside. Neither keeper has had any serious work to do yet.
18 min: Neto dribbles hard down the left but nobody in blue keeps up with him and there’s nowhere to go.
16 min: Forest are launching all of their attacks down the right. Aina sends a cross in. Wood flicks on to nobody in particular. Sanchez claims.
14 min: Madueke dribbles infield purposefully from the right again. He makes himself some space to shoot on the edge of the D only to slip before he can pull the trigger.
13 min: Madueke zips in elegantly from the right before slipping Fernandez into space on the overlap. The ball’s fizzed through the Forest six-yard box but Sancho can’t get anywhere near it. Both teams looking lively.
12 min: … and from that throw, Elanga crosses long again, but can’t find Milenkovic at the far stick. Goal kick.
11 min: Forest have started this match brightly. Aina makes another run down the right, causing Cucurella to come across and batter the ball out of play for a throw.
9 min: Dominguez plays a cute pass down the right channel to release Aina into the Chelsea box. Aina’s cutback is clanked out of play by Colwill for another Forest corner. The set piece is dealt with easily enough by the away defence, and Neto tries to launch a counter down the right, but his run comes to nothing.
8 min: Fernandez tries to find Sancho on the left with an ambitious crossfield pass but only manages in airmailing the ball into the stand. That amused the home fans, if nothing else.
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6 min: Elanga looks to be in a determined mood. Now he swings a cross in from his flank. Dominguez prepares to meet it at the far post, but Cucurella stoops to head clear. A nice breezy start to this game.
5 min: Elanga comes again and wins Forest’s first corner down the right. He takes it himself and fails to beat the first man. He’s got the good grace to apologise to his team-mates.
4 min: Gibbs-White barges his way down the inside-left channel … but James makes up ground and barges him off the ball. Elanga picks up the loose ball and tries to keep things going but Cucurella gets in the road and puts a stop to his gallop.
2 min: Chelsea are on the front foot quickly, though, and Palmer wins a corner down the left. It’s played short before being swung in, and it causes no danger to the hosts. What an atmosphere, though!
A quick blast of Mull of Kintyre … a banner of a road-sign that points the way to Destination: Europe … another with a Forest van heading in that direction … the taking of the knee, because this sport and our love is for everyone … then Forest get the ball rolling. What an atmosphere!
The teams are out! The City Ground roaring. Some atmosphere. Cloughie would be proud. Forest in Garibaldi red, Chelsea in royal blue. Now there’s a contrast of worldviews. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes!
Nuno Espírito Santo also speaks to Sky Sports. “We are determined to play a good game … enjoy but competing well, that’s the priority … be a good team … compact … brave … dominant … a team that plays good! … it will be very hard [not to follow other results] but that would be perfect … stick to the task … ignore what is going on outside … that is not the reality so we have to try to shield the team … the energy of the crowd … put it onto the pitch so we can together enjoy the game.”
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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca talks to Sky Sports. “The focus on us has to be the main target … it depends on us … play the game … do the things we have done all season … try to win the game … at this stage we have the privilege that it depends on us … we do not need to watch the other ones … nobody on the bench with a mobile … [qualification for the Champions League] would be a huge boost … we have been there all season … hopefully we can have a nice day.”
The equation is simple for Nottingham Forest. They have to win if they’re to have any chance of competing for Old Big Ears for the first time since the days of Old Big ‘Ead. Even then, they’ll require either Newcastle United or Aston Villa to fail to win. A draw could be enough for Chelsea, but they’d be banking on Newcastle losing at home to Everton or Villa failing to win at Manchester United. A win will see Chelsea right no matter what, thanks to their superior goal difference over Villa (unless Unai Emery’s side break their club-record win of 13-0 against Wednesdbury Old Athletic in the first round of the FA Cup in 1886, but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it). Defeat for Chelsea and they are jiggered.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 37 | 45 | 83 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 37 | 34 | 71 |
| 3 | Man City | 37 | 26 | 68 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 37 | 22 | 66 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 37 | 20 | 66 |
| 6 | Aston Villa | 37 | 9 | 66 |
| 7 | Nottm Forest | 37 | 13 | 65 |
| 8 | Brighton | 37 | 4 | 58 |
| 9 | Brentford | 37 | 9 | 55 |
| 10 | Fulham | 37 | 2 | 54 |
| 11 | AFC Bournemouth | 37 | 10 | 53 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 37 | 0 | 52 |
| 13 | Everton | 37 | -3 | 45 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 37 | -15 | 41 |
| 15 | West Ham | 37 | -18 | 40 |
| 16 | Man Utd | 37 | -12 | 39 |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 37 | 2 | 38 |
| 18 | Leicester | 37 | -45 | 25 |
| 19 | Ipswich | 37 | -44 | 22 |
| 20 | Southampton | 37 | -59 | 12 |
Updated
Nottingham Forest are in If It Ain’t Broke Mode. They won their last game 2-1 at West Ham United, so name exactly the same starting XI.
Chelsea won their last game too, 1-0 at home to Manchester United. They make one change, though, Jadon Sancho returning at the expense of Tyrique George, who drops to the bench.
The teams
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Dominguez, Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Elanga.
Subs: Carlos Miguel, Morato, Hudson-Odoi, Toffolo, Jota Silva, Yates, Sosa, Danilo, Boly.
Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Madueke, Palmer, Sancho, Pedro Neto.
Subs: Jorgensen, Badiashile, Dewsbury-Hall, Chalobah, Gusto, George, Acheampong, Guiu, Lavia.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).
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Preamble
Kick off is at 4pm BST. It’s on!
