Nottingham Forest manager, Vitor Pereira, has heaped praise on Nigeria international Taiwo Awoniyi after the striker delivered a standout performance in their 3-1 away victory over Chelsea.
Awoniyi, who was making only his second start of the season, celebrated his 100th appearance for Forest in style by scoring twice.
His goals played a key role in strengthening the club’s fight to avoid relegation.
He got Forest off to a flying start, heading home from Dilane Bakwa’s cross just two minutes into the match.
The forward was also involved in the build-up to the second goal, winning a penalty that Igor Jesus converted in the 15th minute.
The Nigerian striker struck again in the 52nd minute, calmly finishing into an empty net after being set up by substitute Morgan Gibbs-White, putting Forest 3-0 up at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea managed a late consolation in stoppage time when João Pedro scored a spectacular overhead kick in the 93rd minute, ending the club’s goalless league run that had stretched beyond 550 minutes since early March.
Awoniyi’s brace took his season tally to four goals in 14 appearances. The result leaves Nottingham Forest 16th on the table with 42 points, six clear of the relegation zone with three matches remaining.
Interestingly, his only other start this season also came against Chelsea in the first leg, and his last Premier League brace prior to this had also been against the Blues on May 13, 2025, a performance that helped lift Forest away from danger at the time.
Reflecting on Awoniyi’s impact, Pereira who 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.”
