3rd September, 2023
Ben Chilwell admits Chelsea need to find a ruthless streak as their inconsistent start to the Premier League season saw them lose at home to Nottingham Forest.
Anthony Elanga came off the bench to score the only goal of the game as Steve Cooper’s visitors left Stamford Bridge with a hard-fought 1-0 win.
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino had named the same side that beat Luton last time out in the league but, despite dominating possession, the Blues failed to find a way past Matt Turner in the Forest goal.
The hosts had 21 shots to Forest’s seven but managed to get just two on target as Nicolas Jackson – one of their big-money summer signings – missed a sitter in the search for an equaliser.
The loss leaves Chelsea on four points from four games, already eight points off the pace despite a summer of heavy recruitment.
“We are moving in the right direction,” Chilwell told the club’s official website.
“Every game we have controlled possession and the majority of matches we have played well. We need to finish chances, be more ruthless and stay composed to get back into games.
“That’s the final bit, finishing our chances. If you look at the stats we dominated the game, had the possession, but the most important stat is the goals. We lost in that department and lost the game, that is the black and white of it.”
Chilwell, who will now link up with England for their forthcoming fixtures against Ukraine and Scotland, believes results will improve once Pochettino’s new-look squad become more familiarised.
“It is a very new team still and a lot of new players still trying to find their feet at a new club,” he added.
“You have to understand their playing styles but it is a game we still should be winning. No excuses. We will hopefully turn this round as the confidence grows.”
Forest also had a busy summer in the transfer market as they recruited 13 new signings in a bid to avoid another relegation scrap.
Elanga was one of them, arriving from Manchester United for £15million, and he made the difference three minutes into the second half at Chelsea having only replaced Danilo in first-half stoppage time.
Asked if his first Forest goal was something he could now aim to build on, the Sweden international replied: “I need to play for me to build that confidence and that’s something I didn’t really get to do at United.
“But now that I’m here, I feel like I’ve got the confidence of the manager who has given me these opportunities and hopefully these opportunities will turn into starts and more goals and assists.”