Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira has praised Nigeria international Taiwo Awoniyi following his brace in his side’s 3-1 win away to Chelsea.
Awoniyi marked his 100th appearance for Forest with a brace, which helped to boost his side’s hopes of escaping relegation.
Making just his second start this season, Awoniyi broke the deadlock on two minutes with a header from Dilane Bakwa’s cross and won a penalty, which was converted by Igor Jesus in the 15th minute.
Then in the 52nd minute Awoniyi grabbed his second of the game, tapping into an empty net off a low cross from substitute Morgan Gibbs-White to make it three 3-0.
Chelsea pulled one back in stoppage time through João Pedro in the 93rd minute who scored a spectacular overhead kick to end the Blues’ run of more than 550 minutes without a league goal, a drought that stretched back to early March.
Awoniyi’s brace took his tally for the season to four goals in 14 games, while the victory kept Forest 16th on the table with 42 points, six points above the relegation zone with three matches left to play.
His only previous start this season had also come against Chelsea in the first leg and also the last time he scored a brace in the Premier League was also against the Blues—on May 13, 2025—when his goals helped lift Forest out of the relegation zone.
Also Read: ‘An Important Win’ — Awoniyi Talks Up Forest Victory Over Chelsea
Reflecting on the performance of Awoniyi, Pereira quoted on vavel.com said:“[He brings] everything – Taiwo Awoniyi is a danger player. He is not on the list in the Europa League, but we know he will push the defensive line of the opponents because he runs, attacks the space, holds the ball and this is the kind of spirit and the smile and energy we need in this team.”
On his team’s impressive display against the Blues, Pereira added:”We are a team that wants to keep our future in our hands and to do that we need to win games and not to be worried with the results of the other teams.
“If we win, we keep the distance and today another game, they proved again the speed, the quality and organisation. I am very happy for them and the players and the supporters.
“One thing we are doing well is our pressure. We are organised. When we play these teams that put a lot of players in the middle, it is important to close the space inside. We have players that can score goals in different ways, not a clean sheet but a fantastic goal from Joao Pedro.
“But I’m very happy because we showed strong spirit again and showed this is a special group. It’s difficult to deal with four managers, different methodologies and different demands, tactical demands.
“It’s difficult to keep them united and keep them with friendship, and they are one of the best groups I have worked with in my career.”
By James Agberebi
