?Chelsea cruised into the next round of the FA Cup at the expense of Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ross Barkley.
Frank Lampard’s side opened the scoring inside the opening six minutes through their man of the match Hudson-Odoi, who was given too much space inside the penalty area before sending a left-footed strike inside the near post.
Nottingham Forest were denied a lifeline later in the first-half when 17-year-old
Chelsea’s
The VAR continued to work against Nottingham Forest when Ryan Yates saw a second-half header chalked off for offside, but there was a bright moment when Yassine
Forest’s young players tried their best to pull at least one goal back as the game began to come to a close, but it was too little too late and Chelsea held on to round off a comfortable afternoon at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea
Key Talking Point
Even after picking up wins against Arsenal and Tottenham, it’s been a very tough few weeks for Chelsea throughout the Christmas period.
Sunday’s FA Cup tie offered Frank Lampard a chance to experiment with his lineup and a bit of a breather from the competitive Premier League, but Chelsea’s much-changed side didn’t take the result for granted.
The Blues were professional throughout and it was Lampard’s youngest players who were really given the chance to be the difference-makers at Stamford Bridge, while squad players like
Player Ratings
Caballero (6); James (8), Christensen (6), Tomori (7), Emerson (6); Barkley (7), Jorginho (7), Kovacic (7), Hudson-Odoi (9*), Batshuayi (5), Pedro (6).
Substitutes: Mount (6), Lamptey (6).
Star Man
He hasn’t always had a chance to prove it in the first-team this season, but Callum Hudson-Odoi showed exactly why he’s one of England’s most highly-rated young players with a stunning performance on Sunday.
Very good first half performance from Hudson-Odoi….A goal and an assist to cap his man of the match performance. PERFECT ? #CFC
— Bridge News?? (@cfc_wale) January 5, 2020
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Hudson-Odoi is balling man – Much needed confidence booster this will be. Hopefully only way is up from now on.
— ? (@J5Edition) January 5, 2020
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Hudson-Odoi! Get in! Exactly what he needs!
— #SanchoDaily | C A R E F R E E (@CarefreeEdition) January 5, 2020
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Hudson-Odoi has been outstanding in attack this afternoon but I am more impressed with his defensive game, the recovery runs, taking up good positions and there is also the willingness to help the full-back. He’s evolving nicely.
— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) January 5, 2020
Hudson-Odoi’s threat down the right side – along with Reece James – proved to be Chelsea’s best outlet throughout the game their first two goals in the match only came as a result of the senior England international.
He hasn’t been part of Chelsea’s senior side quite as much as some of their other academy graduates, but it was a performance that showed exactly why it was so crucial for the club to tie him down to a new long-term contract at the start of the season.
Nottingham Forest
Key Talking Point
It was always going to be a tough ask to get anything from the match, but Nottingham Forest played themselves into trouble by giving Hudson-Odoi all the time in the world to score the opening goal of the match inside the opening six minutes.
17-year-old Alex Mighten was a bright spark for Sabri Lamouchi’s rotated side at Stamford Bridge, but in just his second ever senior appearance he struggled to single handily give Forest a chance of progressing in the cup.
It was clear from the word go that the FA Cup was a competition that Forest weren’t taking too seriously and they’ll now be looking to cement their place in the play-off spots in the Championship table.
Player Ratings
Smith (6); Jenkinson (6), Dawson (6), Figueiredo (5), Ribeiro (4); Adomah (6), Yates (6), Semedo (6), Carvalho (5); Mighten (8*), Johnson (5).
Substitutes:
Star Man
Alex Mighten only ever played 12 minutes of senior football before Sunday’s match, but the 17-year-old stood out like no one else for Nottingham Forest and caused Chelsea all sorts of problems throughout the match.
alex mighten is a baller btw
— luke preston (@lukeeeepreston) January 5, 2020
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Get Alex mighten in the first team hes comfortable and is exciting on the ball #NFFC
— Richard Pacey (@RichardPacey6) January 5, 2020
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Alex Mighten looks a real prospect not fazed against Prem defenders. He could be worth a try in Champ with that pace and trickery. #nffc
— Phil (@bullyphil) January 5, 2020
The England Under-18 international was even able to win his side a penalty – that was eventually overturned by the Video Assistant Referee – but it was
Looking Ahead
For Chelsea, they’ll host Burnley next week before hitting the road to face Newcastle United in two must-win games ahead of their tough run of fixtures.
Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, have two matches against Reading within just 11 days, either side of their home game against Luton Town.
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