Nigeria international, Taiwo Awoniyi marked his 100th appearance for Nottingham Forest in the most emphatic fashion, scoring twice as Vítor Pereira’s side beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge yesterday to extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches in all competitions.
The 28-year-old, who joined Forest from Union Berlin in 2022, reached the century landmark having scored 23 goals across all competitions — 21 of them in the Premier League — and underlined his importance to the club’s top-flight survival push with a brace that put the result beyond doubt.
Awoniyi broke the deadlock inside two minutes, meeting Dilane Bakwa’s looping cross from the right with a header that beat Robert Sánchez. Igor Jesus converted a penalty in the 15th minute before Awoniyi completed the scoring seven minutes after the break, tapping home from close range after Morgan Gibbs-White’s ball split the Chelsea defence. João Pedro pulled one back with an overhead effort deep in added time, but Forest were comfortable throughout, with
Matz Sels earlier denying Cole Palmer from the penalty spot to preserve the two-goal advantage at the interval.
The result moves Forest six points clear of the relegation zone and to within two of Chelsea in ninth, with a Europa League semi-final second leg against Aston Villa at Villa Park to come on Thursday.
Pereira had made eight changes going into the West London clash, yet his side were tactically assured from the first whistle — a fact Awoniyi was quick to acknowledge afterwards.
“It’s an important win, credit to the players, to the coach and the staff,” the striker said. “We came here with the mentality of getting three points, which we need, and I’m so pleased that we managed to win.
“It was an amazing start and we had control of the ball in the first five minutes, which is what the coach wanted from us. It was a team effort, not just about the goals — Morato as well, and the players that came on from the bench. The coach deserves a lot of credit.”
Awoniyi’s route to Nottingham was a lengthy one. After joining Liverpool as a teenager, he failed to make a senior appearance at Anfield and spent five years on loan at FSV Frankfurt, NEC Nijmegen, Mouscron, Gent, Mainz and Union Berlin before the German club signed him permanently. Forest brought him to the City Ground in the summer of 2022.
His football journey began even earlier in Ilorin, where he walked an hour to training daily and at times fashioned his own boots from discarded pairs. “I’m so thankful for every match because I know what it takes to get to where I am today,” he said.
With the season’s end in sight, Awoniyi is already focused on Thursday’s showdown with Villa. “We’re taking each game as it comes and going into it with a three-point mentality. I believe we’ll go there with that mentality against Villa, and we will see what comes next.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
