Nottingham Forest 0-3 Chelsea: Acheampong, Neto & James put Postecoglou on brink | OneFootball

Chelsea claimed a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the Premier League to secure a third consecutive win in all competitions.

Head coach Enzo Maresca, who oversaw proceedings from the stands, guided the Blues to all three points as two quickfire goals in the second half through Josh Acheampong - his first for the club - and Pedro Neto put Forest out of sight quickly.

Reece James netted in the 84th minute on his 200th appearance for the club to seal the points.

Malo Gusto saw red in the final minutes for a second yellow card to put a slight dampener on the victory.

A triple change at half-time overcame a sloppy first half from Chelsea to ensure they picked up another win and piled further pressure on Forest boss Ange Postecoglou, who is on the brink of losing his job.

Pedro Neto jumping for joy after adding Chelsea's second. | IMAGO / Sportimage

Amidst all the changes in the Chelsea side following injury problems, Enzo Maresca's side were extremely sloppy in possession in the early stages at the City Ground.

Plenty of loose passes offered opportunities to Taiwo Awoniyi, Elliot Andersen, and Morgan Gibbs-White, who had two chances in the opening 25 minutes. Fortunately for Chelsea, the hosts failed to punish.

It was a disappointing first 45 minutes for Chelsea, who could count themselves lucky they headed into the interval all square.

They did have a couple of chances of their own shortly before the break, both falling to Andrey Santos. But the Brazilian was unable to find the target on both occasions, firing over the crossbar and dragging the other shot wide of Matz Sels' goal.

Maresca watching from the stands as he serves his one-game touchline ban. | IMAGO / Sportsphoto

Maresca saw enough at the half-time break following his team talk. He made a triple change - bringing on Moises Caicedo, Jamie Gittens and Marc Guiu to replace Romeo Lavia, Alejandro Garnacho and Andrey Santos.

Four minutes into the second half and Chelsea's changes work. Pedro Neto clipped a ball into the box from the left-hand side and Josh Acheampong, who was a bright spark in the first half, headed home from close range to put the visitors ahead.

Three minutes later and the lead was doubled. Neto turned provider to goalscorer after firing a free-kick past Sels to put Chelsea two goals ahead.

Acheampong heading Chelsea into the lead at the City Ground. | IMAGO / Pro Sports Images

Nottingham Forest should have halved the deficit on the hour mark. Oleksandr Zinchenko's cross found Neco Williams unmarked at the back post, but he was only able to blast his effort from close range over the crossbar.

The hosts continued to knock on the door for a way back into the game. Robert Sanchez was called into action to keep out Nikola Milenković's header to ensure the Blues kept hold of their two-goal advantage.

Forest continued to threaten and they couldn't believe their luck in the 20th minute. Igor Jesus guided Callum Hudson-Odoi's cross goalwards, but it came off the crossbar and out off the post to Chelsea's relief.

Maresca made two final changes heading into the closing stages, bringing on Estevao Willian for Neto, and replacing the other goalscorer Acheampong for Tosin Adarabioyo, who returned following a calf problem.

Reece James added one final blow to the hosts, who quickly headed for the exits, firing in from close range in the 84th minute to score on a marquee day, his 200th appearance.

The victory had a dampener in the 87th minute when Malo Gusto was sent off for a second yellow card, adding to Chelsea's discipline problems in recent games.

Chelsea saw the remainder of the game out to keep a clean sheet at the City Ground and return from the international break where they left off - winning.

Maresca will earn the plaudits for making the required changes at half-time following a poor performance in the opening 45, but Chelsea overcame difficulties to move into the top four, even if for the time being.