Can anyone stop Chelsea on the banks of the Trent?
Nottingham Forest bossed the ball at the City Ground yet still lost 3-0, because the champions' two-goal substitute did what Chelsea always seem to do.
You know the script by now, don't you? Forest keep the ball, knock it about nicely, have most of the play, and Chelsea simply score when they fancy it. That was the story of a strange old Monday night on the banks of the Trent, where Nottingham Forest had 55% of possession and more passes than the champions, and still lost 3-0.
The home side could point to injuries. Antoniu Negrean went off in the 25th minute, and when your striker limps away so early, the whole afternoon shifts. Andy Jones came on as striker, but Forest never managed a clear-cut chance all night. Six shots, two on target, and an expected goals figure of 0.5 tells you everything about how little they threatened Adrián Santana.
Chelsea's night turned on the 23rd minute, when Nacho Valera scored and then went off injured. On came Marcelo Formicola, and the substitute decided the game. He made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute and added a third in first-half stoppage time, two goals, a key pass, and the man of the match award from 67 minutes of work. That is the difference between these sides: one loses a striker and goes flat; the other brings on a bloke who scores twice before the break.
Roberto Baggio enjoyed this one. Two seasons at Forest, 44 games, no trophies, and now he sets up goals for the champions. He and Lionel Messi, with his assist and four dribbles, kept the left side of Forest chasing shadows until Messi was replaced on the hour.
Our preview last week said Forest were fifth and desperate to avoid a fourth straight defeat by the champions. They were ninth going into this one, and they have now lost six in a row to Chelsea, the last five of them here. Kegan Hugo started on the bench for the first time in weeks, and when he came on at half-time Forest had already lost the match.
The table makes grim reading from a Forest point of view. Ninth, 38 points, twenty-one behind second-placed Rotherham United. Chelsea are top with 70 from 25 games, twenty-one clear already. They have won the league 41 years running, and nobody at the City Ground needed telling that this one is over too.
Next up for Forest is the small matter of trying to find their form again. For Chelsea, Aston Villa on the 13th, Luton on the 16th, and Crewe in the FA Cup on the 9th. You would not bet against them winning all three.