Colwill pounces to fire Chelsea back into big time

Before kick-off, a giant banner dangled from the upper tier of the Trent End, an oversized mock brown tourist sign. "Destination: Europe," it read. Below that, a flag of a camper van with Nottingham Forest scarves flickering out of the windows.

- Ben Fisher

At the end of a magnificent season for Forest, the only disappointment was that all roads from here lead to the Conference League and not the Champions League, in which Chelsea will play next season after two years away. First, however, for Enzo Maresca and his players is a trip to Wroclaw, to navigate a final against Real Betis in the competition Forest will grace for the first time next season.

This was a priceless victory for Chelsea. Forest, meanwhile, may never know the value of victory. Results elsewhere were relayed over the speakers as the players headed for the tunnel at half-time, though Maresca said the first he knew of the goings-on at Old Trafford and beyond were when his assistant, Willy Caballero, informed him that Manchester United had doubled their lead against Aston Villa with only a few minutes left to run.

The galling thing for Forest was victory would have enabled them to qualify for the Champions League at Newcastle's expense. Nuno Espirito Santo was left wondering what might have been. "It is tough to take," the Forest manager said.