Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi marked his 100th appearance for the club with a brace, as Forest stunned Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge in a rare Monday afternoon kick-off, boosting their hopes of escaping relegation, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Making just his second start of the campaign, Awoniyi wasted no time, scoring inside two minutes with a header from Dilane Bakwa’s cross. He then won a penalty, which was converted by Igor Jesus midway through the first half.
Seven minutes into the second half, the Nigerian forward grabbed his second of the game, tapping in a low cross from substitute Morgan Gibbs-White to make it three for Forest.
Chelsea pulled one back in stoppage time through João Pedro, 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.
Awoniyi might not have featured in Monday’s encounter, but his exclusion from Forest’s Europa League squad allowed head coach Vítor Pereira to rely on him, as he made eight changes with Thursday’s semi-final second leg against Aston Villa in mind.
Coincidentally, Awoniyi’s only previous start this season had also come against Chelsea in the first leg.
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.
The 28-year-old joined Forest from Union Berlin in the summer of 2022 for €20.5m. His debut season remains his most productive, with 10 goals and one assist in 27 appearances.
However, recurring injuries limited his output in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, during which he managed a combined seven goals and three assists in 43 league matches.
This season, despite limited opportunities—featuring in 14 matches, including 12 substitute appearances—he has recorded four goals and one assist.
Across his four seasons at the club, Awoniyi has made 87 appearances in the Premier League, along with 13 outings in the FA Cup and EFL Cup competitions.
His current contract with Nottingham Forest is set to expire at the end of next season.
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