Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea: Blues return to Champions League thanks to Levi Colwill's winning goal

Chelsea banished their away-day blues by beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 at the City Ground to return to the Champions League and consign their hosts to the Conference League.

It provided a positive end to a challenging domestic campaign for Enzo Maresca and his young side, who have faced questions over their mentality and lack of experience. It also prompted a bullish response from the head coach, who told the doubters to "f*** off" in his post-match comments.

Chelsea knew that, regardless of the results earned by their Champions League rivals Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa, they would finish in a qualification place for the first time since the 2021/22 season with victory over Forest.

Their shocking record of one win in their last 10 away games did not inspire confidence, nor did the fact they had already lost at every other top-seven side this season.

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But Levi Colwill - whose own goal for Huddersfield in the Championship play-off final promoted Forest to the top flight three years ago - struck shortly after half-time to put Chelsea in front.

Defeats for Newcastle and Villa meant Chelsea could afford to draw and still find themselves in the top five, but their focus rarely wavered as they kept Forest's blunt attack at bay with a determined defensive display.

On the two occasions Chelsea's defence was breached, the usually reliable Chris Wood was unable to convert the chances that fell his way. Had he done so, Forest would have taken their visitors' place in the Champions League.

Conference League qualification is still a remarkable achievement for a Forest side that narrowly avoided relegation last season. But it is Chelsea who will play on Europe's biggest stage next term.

Chelsea win battle of nerves as home form deserts Forest

The sense ahead of kick-off was that a fired-up City Ground, combined with a physical and intense performance from Forest, could be enough to see off an inexperienced Chelsea side that were bullied into defeat by Newcastle in their previous away game.

The home fans played their part - further encouraged by the appearance of Taiwo Awoniyi before kick-off following his worrying injury earlier this month - but their team never got going. Perhaps understandably, nerves among both sides helped to make this a tense yet low-quality encounter.

It took until the 30th minute for the game’s first opening, with Pedro Neto - ineffective after being forced into action as the No 9 in place of the suspended Nicolas Jackson - lifting a tame volley over when unmarked.

Wood then performed a similar trick at the other end, missing the open goal despite beating Robert Sanchez to a cross.

The destination of the final three Champions League places was impossible to predict at half-time but Colwill provided some sense of order shortly after the break, poking in Neto's scuffed ball across the box.

Unusually for a side that likes to dominate the ball, Chelsea conceded over 50 per cent of the possession to Forest, perhaps content in their belief that Nuno Espirito Santo's side would not be sure what to do with it.

If that was the case then they were proved right. Forest are so deadly on the counter-attack, but Chelsea dropped back and restricted the space on offer to Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga, while Tosin Adarabioyo, Colwill and Sanchez stood up to their hosts' set-piece threat.

That is not to say Forest were incapable of creating anything. Deep into injury time, Wood was picked out in the box, but his first touch was wayward and his second sent the ball high and wide.

It is a measure of how good Forest's season has been that they may feel slightly underwhelmed at dropping into the Conference League. They held firm in the top five for so long but their home form deserted them just when it mattered, ending the season without a win in five at the City Ground.

As the home fans left disappointed, Chelsea's players raced to the away end in celebration, a sign of how desperate they have all been to see the club back in the Champions League. Attention now turns to the Conference League final on Wednesday - win that and Enzo Maresca will have achieved his two biggest priorities from his first season in charge.

Maresca delivered - but what comes next will define success or failure

Analysis from Sky Sports' Laura Hunter:

Chelsea's final-day victory - which confirmed Champions League qualification - was the first time Enzo Maresca's side have won and kept a clean sheet away from home since September. A mad statistic that sums up a bit of a muddled campaign.

On the day, pretty much everything conspired to serve Chelsea. Levi Colwill scored a scrappy goal. Chris Wood missed a pair of sitters, and as frustration around the City Ground grew, Maresca's youngsters bound together to keep their cool.

The average age of Chelsea's starting XI in the league this season was 24 years and 36 days - the youngest ever. At times it has really shown. Maresca is a first-time Premier League manager attempting to guide a group devoid of leaders and figureheads. And yet, after a two-year absence, Chelsea are back at Europe's top table.

Maresca has got his work cut out to get this squad to resemble something close to coherent. But the lure of Champions League football will help to attract the right calibre of help this summer. It feels like a significant and necessary building block in the restoration of a club that used to challenge for top honours year after year.

The real question remains: Where can they go from here?

Maresca pleased to prove doubters wrong

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca:

"I didn't have any doubt, to be honest, about the players, I said that the doubt was from outside. They were saying that we were not able to win on this pitch because we are too young, because we are not experienced.

"Unfortunately for them, they'll be all wrong, the ones that (think) they are the truth and they have the answer for everything. In English we say 'F Off' to all of them. The players, they deserve that, I have said before, they have been fantastic.

"City lost here. Arsenal drew here. Liverpool drew here. Chelsea won. It's not easy. The players, they show how good they are."

Nuno: Tough to take - but I'm proud

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo:

"I think it's time to reflect, but as a coaching staff we have to thank the players because they work very hard every day. A very good squad. We have to thank the fans for their incredible support.

"I think it's a good season. We've been able to improve many things and we have a good platform. We should be proud. We stick together.

"It's very difficult today. We are disappointed but it’s been good. It has been a very demanding season. It's not easy speaking to you guys because today is tough. We knew the last game was going to be difficult and we came short."

Story of the match in stats...

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