Chelsea won for just the fourth time in 15 Premier League away matches as they eased past Nottingham Forest in a one-sided second half that culminated in Ange Postecoglou’s sacking.
The Blues were played off the park for most of the first half at the City Ground as Postecoglou’s Forest threatened to take the lead, but the game was still goalless at the break.
The triple substitution made at the interval by Enzo Maresca - who watched from the stands as he served a one-game touchline ban - worked a treat as goals from Josh Acheampong, Pedro Neto and Reece James took Chelsea up to fourth in the table for now.
Chelsea clinical in tale of two halves
While Forest can be criticised for being so wasteful in front of goal, Chelsea were clinical in the second half.
Acheampong was the unlikely scorer of their opener, planting a header into the back of the net for his first senior goal just after the break. Then, three minutes later, James rolled to Neto to score from a free-kick.
James later capitalised on Matz Sels’ flapping at a late corner as he struck in a volley to make it 3-0 and compound the misery for Forest and Postecoglou.
Moises Caicedo played for a few minutes of the second half with a paper note from the dugout in his hand, brought on by substitute Estevao Willian. It ended up in James’ possession and it was shortly after he tucked it into his socks that he scored the third.
Whatever tactics were written on it, the advice given must have been pretty spot-on.
Maresca triple change works wonders
Maresca was watching on from the Peter Taylor Stand rather than the executive boxes, sat with one member of his backroom staff as well as next to Chelsea’s co-sporting director Paul Winstanley.
He was serving his one-game touchline ban following his sending off for a second yellow card as he left his technical area to celebrate the Blues' stoppage-time winner against Liverpool before the international break.
In the first half, he was a picture of nerves. By the 28-minute mark, Chelsea had already committed more errors leading to opposition shots than in any other match they had played in the Premier League this season.
Maresca could be seen with his head in his hands after an Andrey Santos missed volley, and biting his nails as Alejandro Garnacho ran down a blind alley.
But as he made his way to the away dressing room, Maresca was plotting a half-time triple change. Off came the disappointing Romeo Lavia, Garnacho and Andrey Santos. On came Jamie Gittens, Caicedo and Marc Guiu, who stretched the Forest defence and was a nuisance.
The plan worked to perfection as Chelsea cruised to victory, but not without their customary red card. Malo Gusto, who had produced a poor individual performance, was sent off for a second booking. That’s now five red cards in Chelsea’s last six games. It would be an impressive feat if it weren't so damning.
Caicedo value made crystal clear
Caicedo did not travel on international duty with Ecuador over the last fortnight and was named on the bench at Forest.
It was the first time he had not been in the Chelsea starting XI in the Premier League since his signing — a run of 65 games — and his absence showed.
A midfield of Andrey Santos, Lavia and Gusto were miles off the pace in the first half as Elliot Anderson and Co ran rings around them, more physical and more hungry for the ball.
It is little surprise that by half-time, Maresca had seen enough and immediately sent Caicedo on for Lavia, also hauling Santos off in favour of Guiu as Joao Pedro took up the No10 role.
It worked brilliantly as Chelsea wrapped up a victory that spelt the end for Postecoglou at Forest after only 39 days. Caicedo’s importance to the Blues was placed in bold, italicised and underlined at the City Ground. By the end, they were deserving winners.
