Ben Chilwell explains Chelsea's shock defeat to Nottingham Forest

By: 90min.com Posted On: September 03, 2023 View: 3

Ben Chilwell has lamented Chelsea's lack of "ruthlessness" in front goal after the Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Despite spending over £1bn on new players, Chelsea have endured a rocky start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, winning just one game - against Luton Town - and shockingly losing to both West Ham United and, most recently, Nottingham Forest.

A single Anthony Elanga goal was enough to separate the two sides, with the likes of Nicolas Jackson spurning a number of chances to get something from the game for Chelsea.

Speaking to the club's official website after the defeat, vice-captain Chilwell pinpointed this lack of cutting edge in the final third as being the key behind the Blues recent issues.

"Very frustrating result and everyone is very disappointed in the changing room right now. 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 and we need to improve," he said.

"Mistakes are part of football, and it is about how you recover from those mistakes and try and get back into games.

"After we conceded we get too erratic which suited them more and we lost control of the game which is not what we wanted. That is what we need to improve, continuing to play our football after conceding.

"It is a very new team still and a lot of new players still trying to find their feet at a new club, 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.

"We are moving in the right direction. Every game we have controlled possession and the majority of matches we have played. We need to finish chances, be more ruthless and stay composed to get back into games. That’s the final bit, finishing our chances."

Chelsea and Chilwell will hope to return to winning ways when they fave Bournemouth after the September international break.