Nottingham Forest sacked manager Ange Postecoglou straight after they suffered a 3-0 defeat by Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday which left the club languishing in 17th place and on the brink of slipping into the relegation zone.

Australian Postecoglou became the first Forest manager to fail to win any of his first eight games in charge of the Midlands side and the writing was on the wall at 2-0 when club owner Evangelos Marinakis left his seat in the stands.

A resounding chorus of boos met the final whistle and Postecoglou cut a lone figure near the centre circle as he applauded the handful of Forest fans who had stayed behind.

Chelsea’s Pedro Neto got a goal and an assist within three minutes at The City Ground and though the visitors were reduced to 10 men late on when Malo Gusto was sent off, they kept a clean sheet as the win lifted Enzo Maresca’s side to fourth.

FOREST START BRIGHTER BUT NO GOALS

Postecoglou rolled the dice by changing half his side from the last defeat and Forest did start the brighter of the two teams but could not find the net in a goalless first half.

Chelsea had a new-look midfield, with Cole Palmer sidelined for six more weeks and Enzo Fernandez not in the squad while Moises Caicedo only made the bench.

Maresca was watching the game in the stands due to a one-match touchline ban and the Italian had his head in his hands when three significant errors gifted Forest clear chances.

Fortunately for Chelsea, the home side failed to capitalise on mistakes, with Morgan Gibbs-White coming closest with two big opportunities, curling a shot wide of the top corner and missing with an acrobatic effort moments later.

CHELSEA FIND CUTTING EDGE
But Chelsea gradually grew into the game, carving out their best chances in the final 10 minutes. Andrey Santos came close twice, once firing over after a clever layoff from Joao Pedro while his next effort went wide.

Maresca made three substitutions at halftime and Chelsea were rewarded four minutes after the break when Neto’s cross into the box was headed home by the unmarked 19-year-old defender Josh Acheampong.

The mood at The City Ground changed drastically two minutes later when Chelsea earned a free kick.

Reece James rolled it to Neto whose effort pierced through the wall and past the hand of goalkeeper Matz Sels to leave Postecoglou fuming.

Forest thought they had scored in the 70th minute when Igor Jesus stretched to fire a shot on goal but the ball bounced off the bar and the post.

Any hopes of a comeback went up in smoke on another set-piece as Sels punched a corner into the path of James who fired home, sparking an exodus as Forest fans headed for the exits.

Chelsea’s only black mark came when Gusto was sent off for a second yellow card for scything down Neco Williams but they held on for their first clean sheet since August.

Lewandowski Misses Penalty Kick As Sevilla Thrashed Injury Threatened Barcelona 4-1 To In Seville—-Spanish champions Barcelona collapsed in a shock 4-1 demolition at Sevilla in La Liga, with Alexis Sanchez scoring against his former side and Robert Lewandowski missing a penalty for the visitors.

The Catalans sit second in the table after their first defeat of the campaign, two points behind bitter rivals Real Madrid following Los Blancos’ victory over Villarreal on Saturday, while Sevilla rise provisionally to fourth.

Veteran Chilean winger Sanchez sent Sevilla ahead from the penalty spot early on and Isaac Romero doubled the hosts’ lead after having already missed two good chances.

Marcus Rashford pulled a goal back for Barcelona before half-time, but Lewandowski fired wide from the spot to spurn his team’s best chance of an equaliser.

Jose Carmona and Akor Adams wrapped up Sevilla’s emphatic win in the final stages, as Hansi Flick’s side fell to an unusually heavy defeat.

“The team’s first 45 minutes were horrendous, I think we’ve not played a game as bad as that and we must be self-critical,” Barca midfielder Pedri Gonzalez said.Flick defended his team despite their loss, saying he was pleased with their reaction in the second half.

“I know that we have to analyse (everything), especially in the first half… but in the second, for me to see the reaction of the team and them fighting was good to see,” Flick told reporters.

“It’s one match and we lost it, and we have to keep going on.”Barcelona were still licking their wounds after Paris Saint-Germain beat them late on in the Champions League on Wednesday, and were without injured teenage star Lamine Yamal.

The Catalans were sluggish and although Sevilla have a weaker squad compared to their peak years in the early part of this century, the hosts’ energy was enough to pull Flick’s disorganised team apart.

“In the first half we didn’t know how to defend well or attack well,” Pedri said.It started when Ronald Araujo clumsily grappled with Romero in the box and a penalty was awarded as the striker gratefully hit the deck. Sanchez dispatched it, with the 36-year-old sending Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to fire Matias Almeyda’s side ahead.

Romero missed two big chances, first denied by Szczesny and then skewing wide after Lucien Agoume’s neat cross set him up.The striker made no mistake next time though, sweeping into the bottom corner from Ruben Vargas’ cutback as Barca were opened up again.

Rashford was the first Barcelona player to awake from their slumber, forcing a save at his near post from Sevilla goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos. The England international pulled the champions back into the game deep in first-half stoppage time, volleying home Pedri’s cross for his first La Liga goal.

Flick took off Araujo and Gerard Martin for Eric Garcia and Alejandro Balde at the interval, trying to shake up his team after their poor first-half display.Szczesny made a fine save with his legs to thwart Djibril Sow early in the second half as Sevilla continued to take the initiative.

However, having won just one league game at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in 2025 before Barcelona’s visit, the hosts’ nerves began to shake. Sevilla substitute Adnan Januzaj conceded a penalty for felling Balde as he flew into the box, granting Barca a golden chance to level.

Veteran Polish striker Lewandowski stuttered twice in his run-up before firing wide of the post. Youngster Roony Bardghji could have equalised but fired straight at the goalkeeper after Lewandowski’s flick-on sent him in on goal, while Rashford was also ready to pounce if the winger had passed.

Sevilla wrapped up their win late on through full-back Carmona, who drilled a low effort past Szczesny and into the far corner, and Adams. “I’m very happy for the victory, we needed to win at home,” said Sevilla coach Almeyda. “We couldn’t give them a metre of space… we knew what we had to do and we’re on a good path.”