Joao Pedro apologized to Chelsea's fans after their sixth straight league loss. The Brazilian took his share of the blame after the 3-1 defeat to Forest, a result that leaves the team ninth and practically out of the Champions League.
Chelsea continues its negative streak in the Premier League, falling 3-1 to Nottingham Forest and adding its sixth consecutive defeat, leaving them in ninth place in the table, outside any European competition spot.
The only remote possibility they would have to qualify for the Champions League would be with the "help" of Aston Villa (who is currently in fifth place and qualified), but if they win the Europa League, that would grant them immediate qualification to the Champions League, so they would "cede" their ticket to the sixth place in the Premier League (a spot that is only four points behind Chelsea, which makes it quite possible).
After the match against Forest, Joao Pedro admitted that the club must take responsibility. He also took the opportunity to apologize to the fans and mentioned that each player must analyze and question his own performance on the field.
"We started the match conceding a very early goal, and that made the comeback difficult. We must avoid these mistakes; in the Premier League, it is hard to come back from such a scoreline. Everyone, including me, must analyze our game and improve. I am sorry for the fans; we will keep working to make progress."
Without a doubt, it was an afternoon to forget for the Blues. Cole Palmer still cannot find the quality he showed at the Club World Cup and missed a penalty. Malo Gusto conceded another so that Igor Jesus could extend Forest's lead.
Joao Pedro acknowledged: "We have to improve; everyone, including me, must step up. Last week, we beat Leeds; this week, we did not. We must be consistent, keep fighting for every point, and see what we can achieve."
The question is, how far can Chelsea keep falling? Of the last 18 points contested in the Premier League, they have not gotten a single one. They went from being in the Champions League to ninth in a couple of weeks.
It will be interesting to see how the season ends for a Chelsea that seems to have its morale on the floor, with no sign of how they can lift their heads and face the FA Cup final and the remaining league matches.
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