Taiwo Awoniyi scored twice as Nottingham Forest brushed Chelsea aside at Stamford Bridge on the Bank Holiday on Monday afternoon.
The Nigerian striker has been in and out of the squad but came back with bang scoring in each half of the tie.
Viktor Pereira lined up with wholesome changes made to his side as he set his focus on the second leg of the Europa League semi-final face-off against Aston Villa on Thursday.
However, the Tricky Trees outclassed the hosts with a 3-1 win to further stay clear of the drop zone.
Taiwo Awoniyi scored the opener two minutes into the match with a close-range header from Dilane Bakwa’s cross.
Igor Jesus doubled the lead for the visitors 12 minutes later from the penalty spot to register his sixth league goal of the campaign.
Chelsea had the opportunity to reduce the deficit from six yards but Cole Palmer missed the penalty to keep the scoreline the same heading into the break.
Taiwo Awoniyi sealed his brace in the 52nd minute with a simple tap into the back of the net from Morgan Gibbs-White’s pass into the box.
João Pedro eventually got a consolation late on for Chelsea after his initial goal was ruled offside.
The match ended 3-1, as Chelsea suffered their sixth consecutive loss in the Premier League, scoring only one goal.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest have 42 points and occupy the 16th spot on the log with three matches to the end of the season.
