The magic of the FA Cup arrived once again this weekend, and it saw the big boys coming out to play. Dressed for the occasion, Chelsea welcomed Nottingham Forest to the Bridge, and we went along for the occasion, making this fixture the next in our ‘Framed’ series.
When you look down the fixture list for the Third Round of the FA Cup, you’re always scanning for potential upsets, as the big boys of the Premier League come out to play. One such fixture that caught our eye for this reason was Forest’s trip to the Bridge. Lampard’s Chelsea have been somewhat inconsistent of late, while Forest are pushing at the top of the Championship.
Designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their FA Cup triumph from 1970, Chelsea were dressed in their special edition kit, which saw the omission of players’ names on the rear and the discreet colouring of the 'Yokohama' sponsor on the front, and it added a certain grandiose to the already exciting occasion.
Chelsea’s reliance on youth once again paid dividends, with a goal and an assist for Callum Hudson-Odoi, while Reece James plagued the Forest left flank, continuously peppering their box with lethal crosses that Batshuayi just could not capitalise on. But it turns out that another youngster ended up being the biggest problem for Forest, with a controversial character named VAR denying them a penalty and a goal in the first and second halves respectively.
No shocks here then as Chelsea continue their attempts to mark their 50th anniversary year with their ninth FA Cup win.
Photography by Elliott Wilcox for SoccerBible.
