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Chelsea 2-0 Nottm Forest: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Hudson-Odoi Stars in Cruising Win

​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 Alex Mighten won a penalty that was ultimately overturned by the Video Assistant Referee.

Chelsea FC v Nottingham Forrest - FA Cup Third Round

Chelsea's one-goal lead was doubled soon after when Hudson-Odoi's shot was parried into the path of Ross Barkley to tap the ball into an empty net, while he missed out on a second after half-time when a looping header hit the post.


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 En-Neyah - who suffered a horrific injury just over a year ago - came off the bench to make his senior debut.

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.

Ross Barkley

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 Andreas Christensen and Ross Barkley also impressed.

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.

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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.

FBL-ENG-FACUP-CHELSEA-NOTTINGHAM FOREST

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: Benalouane (6), Fornah (6), En-Neyah (N/A).

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.

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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 Mighten's threat with his pace and tenacity that showed he wasn't out of place at Stamford Bridge.


Mighten would have pricked the ears of a handful of teams in the Premier League thanks to his performance against Chelsea - a concern for Forest as he's only got a contract with the club for another 18 months.

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.

For more from Ben Carter, follow him on Twitter!


Source : 90min