Jesse Lingard has opened up on the personal heartbreak that saw him take a break from football last year.
Lingard was released at the end of his Nottingham Forest contract following the conclusion of the 2022/23 season.
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Lingard has found a new home in South KoreaCredit: Getty
It was a tough spell at the club where he played 20 times and scored just twice.
He suggests that at times he did not get on the pitch due to his high appearance bonuses, and Forest were struggling to meet Profit and Sustainability [PSR] rules.
The 31-year-old former Manchester United academy starlet did not sign for another club until the following Feburary.
Lingard has now written a column for The Times opening up on the family tragedy behind his break from football.
He wrote: “Behind every footballer there’s a story the public aren’t aware of and I’d like you to know mine. It might explain how I got here — and help other players dealing with private strife.”
Lingard continued: “The only cure was rest [for injury] but, in the summer, when I was out of contract, my nan got ill. She was an amazing woman — Pamela Lingard — and she and my grandad brought me up while, for long parts of my childhood, my mum battled depression.”
He added: “But over the course of last summer, she became really poorly. She was in and out of hospital and though I was training hard and missed being at a club, it felt like being out of contract was God’s plan: I’m not going to give you a team right now, you need to stay home and be with your family.
“So that’s what I did. I spent as much time as I could with them and in November, when Nan passed away, Grandad took it really hard. He was depressed and suffering dizzy spells and was hospitalised himself. He needed looking after too, and there was the funeral to organise and a speech to give.
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Lingard left Forest at the end of the 2022/23 seasonCredit: Getty
“I believe things happen for a reason and that, while my family was suffering, it was just written for me to take a break from playing. However, after Christmas last year it was time to start my comeback.”
He then signed a two-year deal with FC Seoul and they have now reached the play-offs.
On his decision to move there, he said: “The idea of Korea grabbed me. Not just a different challenge, but a new environment and culture. FC Seoul is one of the biggest clubs in the K League, with a fantastic stadium, so I said yes.”
Lingard has played 18 times for his new club, scoring four goals.
Nicolas Jackson has avoided punishment despite video footage showing the Chelsea star appearing to slap an opponent in their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Blues defender Marc Cucurella was nudged by Forest man Neco Williams as he chased down a ball near the halfway line.
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Chelsea and Forest clashed on the pitch in the aftermathCredit: Getty
Cucurella tumbled too the ground and accidentally wiped out his boss Enzo Maresca in the process.
This sparked an angry reaction from Chelsea players and tensions boiled over between the two teams onto the pitch.
Players from both clubs were caught in the tussle, with coaching staff trying to break up the melee as Cucurella and Levi Colwill were booked by referee Chris Kavanagh.
Touchline footage appeared to show star striker Jackson, who had been substituted prior but joined the melee, slapping an opponent.
VAR did look at the incident but deemed no further action was taken, with questions arising over potential retrospective punishment.
However, Jackson has avoided a sanction for the incident, with the FA instead punishing both clubs for their players’ behaviour.
“Chelsea and Nottingham Forest have been charged after the mass confrontation at their Premier League fixture on Sunday, 6 October,” a statement read.
“It’s alleged that both clubs failed to ensure their players didn’t behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the 88th minute. Chelsea and Nottingham Forest have until Thursday, 10 October to provide their responses.”
Chelsea are already facing another £25,000 fine after six of their players were shown yellow cards, with the Blues previously seeing eight players booked in their 1-0 win at Bournemouth, a match that had the most bookings in one match in Premier League history.
Cucurella’s yellow means he will miss Chelsea’s clash away at Liverpool in their first match after the October international break, with Wesley Fofana also suspended following his yellow card.
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Jackson could face retrospective punishment for the incidentCredit: X
The match at Stamford Bridge had 13 minutes of stoppage time with Chelsea being held to a 1-1 draw.
The visitors took the lead four minutes into the start of the second-half when Chris Wood poked in from close range.
It didn’t take long for Chelsea to respond though as Noni Madueke fired into the bottom-left corner from Cole Palmer’s fifth Premier League assist of the season.
Throwback to Cole Palmer gifting fan a shirt, as his recent 4 goal shirt was auctioned at record price!
Forest faced a nervy end to the match after seeing James Ward-Prowse sent off with a second yellow card for a deliberate handball.
Chelsea had two excellent chances to score a late winner but both Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku were unable to find the back of the net.
Forest also had a golden opportunity to take all three points back to Nottingham but Robert Sanchez expertly denied Jota Silva in the final moments.
The draw ends Chelsea’s winning run of five matches in all competitions but sees them remain in the Premier League top four before the international break.
Forest bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to Fulham with another point at Stamford Bridge, their fifth in three seasons since returning to the Premier League.
“If you ask me if I prefer when something like that happens – I like the spirit of our team,” Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said.
“In terms of emotion, the team is fighting altogether and I don’t think some of them lose their heads. They were, all of them, in the game. I was happy with that.
“For sure, there are things that we can control and do better, and probably this is one of the things. But the way they are fighting together, the way they are doing things together, I’m very happy.”
Nicolas Jackson could face punishment after video footage showed the Chelsea star appearing to slap an opponent in their 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Blues defender Marc Cucurella was nudged by Forest man Neco Williams as he chased down a ball near the halfway line.
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Chelsea and Forest clashed on the pitch in the aftermathCredit: Getty
Cucurella tumbled too the ground and accidentally wiped out his boss Enzo Maresca in the process.
This sparked an angry reaction from Chelsea players and tensions boiled over between the two teams onto the pitch.
Players from both clubs were caught in the tussle, with coaching staff trying to break up the melee as Cucurella and Levi Colwill were booked by referee Chris Kavanagh.
Touchline footage appeared to show star striker Nicolas Jackson slapping an opponent.
Jackson had been substituted at the time, but joined the melee that involved nearly every player on the pitch.
VAR did look at the incident, but deemed no further action was taken.
Jackson could still face retrospective punishment for the incident.
Chelsea are already facing a £25,000 fine after six of their players were shown yellow cards.
Cucurella’s yellow means he will miss Chelsea’s clash away at Liverpool in their first match after the October international break, with Wesley Fofana also suspended following his booking.
The match at Stamford Bridge had 13 minutes of stoppage time with Chelsea being held to a 1-1 draw.
The visitors took the lead four minutes into the start of the second-half when Chris Wood poked in from close range.
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Jackson could face retrospective punishment for the incidentCredit: X
It didn’t take long for Chelsea to respond though as Noni Madueke fired into the bottom-left corner from Cole Palmer’s fifth Premier League assist of the season.
Forest faced a nervy end to the match after seeing James Ward-Prowse sent off with a second yellow card for a deliberate handball.
Chelsea had two excellent chances to score a late winner but both Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku were unable to find the back of the net.
Forest also had a golden opportunity to take all three points back to Nottingham but Robert Sanchez expertly denied Jota Silva in the final moments.
The draw ends Chelsea’s winning run of five matches in all competitions but sees them remain in the Premier League top four before the international break.
Throwback to Cole Palmer gifting fan a shirt, as his recent 4 goal shirt was auctioned at record price!
Forest bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to Fulham with another point at Stamford Bridge, their fifth in three seasons since returning to the Premier League.
“If you ask me if I prefer when something like that happens – I like the spirit of our team,” Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said.
“In terms of emotion, the team is fighting altogether and I don’t think some of them lose their heads. They were, all of them, in the game. I was happy with that.
“For sure, there are things that we can control and do better, and probably this is one of the things. But the way they are fighting together, the way they are doing things together, I’m very happy.”
No puck but a good ruck, the game racing from end to end, a tear-up full of desperate blocking, keepers making incredible saves, an expulsion for a barrister’s son and an explosion of tempers that cleared both benches.
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The 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest was hard fought in more than once senseCredit: Getty
That melee arrived when Neco Williams tripped Marc Cucurella who careered off the pitch and took out his own manager, Enzo Maresca.
It was almost comical. Everyone piled in, a couple of security staff also stepped in to calm things down, the substituted Nicolas Jackson tried to get at Morato, and what PGMOL would term ‘sustained holding’ was going on everywhere.
Maresca stood back, surveyed the schoolyard grappling, and tried not to laugh.
This was a game that had everything except a winner.
Nottingham Forest probably felt closest to feeling victorious as they were away from home, kept chasing a winner on the counter even when down to ten and because they had players like the home- grown Ryan Yates eclipsing a world champion in Enzo Fernandez.
Yates embodied Forest’s defiance. The Forest hordes in the Shed must have watched their team with pride.
Yates could have been man of the match but other Forest players produced even more. Nikola Milenkovic was immense at the back and provided the assist for Forest’s goal after 49 minutes.
James Ward-Prowse lifted the free-kick to the far-post, Milenkovic beat Malo Gusto, and Chris Wood drifted away from Wesley Fofana and Moises Caicedo to score.
But the supreme display came from Matz Sels in the Forest goal. The Belgian never convinced during his spell at Newcastle United and there were still some doubts when he arrived at the City Ground last winter. Even at the start of this season, there were questions about the 32-year-old.
Not now. Not after keeping out Fernandez’s shot, Jackson’s shot, Noni Madueke’s header, Cole Palmer’s shot, Christopher Nkunku’s header, a Gusto shot, and then twice in quick succession from Palmer.
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Wood gave Forest a shock lead on 49 minutesCredit: Getty
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This goal from Madueke levelled the game for Chelsea, who were forced to settle for a pointCredit: Getty
This was a big point for Forest, and further vindication of Nuno Espirito Santo’s management.
He organised the team so well again, they have conceded only six goals in seven Premier League games, and are ninth.
Even when Ward-Prowse was sent off after 80 minutes, grasping the ball to stop Jackson attacking, and already on a booking for fouling Palmer, Nuno sent on attackers like Jota Silva and Anthony Elanga.
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Forest fans loved that gutsy response from ten men and manager.
As well as the suspension to Ward-Prowse, the only other frustration for Forest was an injury to Morgan Gibbs-White.
He was playing well, contributing out of possession by tackling back, but otherwise scheming promisingly in the No.10 position.
Challenged (fairly) by Gusto after 76 minutes, Gibbs-White landed awkwardly, jarred his right ankle and has to be a doubt for England’s two Nations League qualifiers.
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Nuno admitted he was ‘very worried’ about the injury to Gibbs-White, who may not play any part in England’s clashes against Greece and FinlandCredit: Getty
Like Forest, Chelsea have similarly been receiving plenty of positive headlines of late, all that band of blues brothers marching to Maresca’s tune, and winning five on the spin so it would be unfair suddenly to assail them with questions.
Certain issues still need tackling. Maresca might have to tweak his tactics against opponents playing low blocks like Forest’s and Crystal Palace, another who drew 1-1 here.
Jackson works better against higher lines, targeting space to run into. A job for Nkunku?
Maresca has a big call to make on Fernandez. The world champion is his captain, an expensive signing, a strong character, but he was eclipsed by Yates.
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Fernandez lost his duel against Forest captain YatesCredit: Getty
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Is it time for Maresca to consider dropping his captain?Credit: AFP
Within 20 seconds, Yates introduced himself to Fernandez, leaving him on the ground and chuntering.
Fernandez soon complained to Yates of an elbow and then pulled him down. Time for Romeo Lavia to complement Moises Caicedo?
Otherwise there were plenty of positives. Robert Sanchez has been questioned but was outstanding here.
He kept out Yates’ header, Murillo’s shot, a Gibbs-White header, an Elliot Anderson shot and Ward-Prowse’s shot.
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It was a thoroughly entertaining battle at the Bridge, and there’s plenty for Maresca to ponderCredit: Getty
In added time, as Forest defended deep and countered only occasionally, Sanchez needed all his agility to fend off Williams’ shot and Jota Silva’s header.
Jadon Sancho looks revitalised by his loan move away from Manchester United.
There were occasional echoes of his Borussia Dortmund best with his running at Ola Aina, Chelsea’s right-back.
Sancho would change direction, stop on the ball, feint to go different ways, then take off again.
Over on the right, Madueke profited from his link-ups with Palmer, including in the 57th minute when he took another pass, cut inside Alex Moreno and curled his shot in.
Madueke worked on his finishing in the summer and it’s paying off. This was his fifth goal of the season.
As good as this finish was, Madueke still needs to vary his attacking, perhaps even returning the ball to Palmer occasionally.
But these are minor quibbles. The game was too enjoyable to be churlish.
Chelsea welcome Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge this weekend but fans won’t be able to watch any of the action on TV.
The Blues are in a rich vein of form having not lost in the Premier League since the opening-day defeat to champions Manchester City.
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Maresca will be keen to head into the international break with another winCredit: Getty
Since then, Enzo Maresca has overseen four top-flight wins and a draw to reestablish the club as Champions League hopefuls.
However, the west Londoners will be wary of being overhauled in the table as one of the last Premier League sides in action before the October international break.
As a result, Chelsea will be desperate to avoid any potential slip-ups at home to Forest that would curtail their recent momentum.
Forest stunned the Blues by winning 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in this fixture last season.
Nuno Espirito Santo‘s men have already pulled off a major scalp this term by winning by the same scoreline against Liverpool at Anfield.
Why is Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest not on TV?
This Premier League match will not be shown on UK TV as it hasn’t been selected to broadcast despite being played at 2pm on a Sunday.
It was originally scheduled for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday and therefore, even though the date has changed, it can still not be shown live.
It was subsequently pushed back a day following Chelsea’s progression into the Europa Conference League proper.
The Blues play Genk in their European opener on Thursday, live on talkSPORT 2, and therefore cannot be involved in a Saturday fixture.
It was confirmed in August that Sky Sports had chosen Aston Villa vs Manchester United as their early Sunday offering.
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Anthony Elanga scored his first Forest goal to secure a 1-0 win last seasonCredit: Getty
Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest: How to follow
This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday, October 6.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for 2pm.
While the game will not be broadcast on UK TV, talkSPORT will be on hand with all the goals during our Sunday session coverage.
Follow Sam Matterface for all the goals as they go in from the Premier League, EFL, and WSL, including Aston Villa v Manchester United, Chelsea v Nottingham Forest and Brighton v Tottenham.
Van de Ven left the Man United players for dead with his paceCredit: AFP
And while the Dutchman’s stunning assist was arguably the game’s standout moment, it wasn’t actually where he hit top speed.
On the brink of half time, Van de Ven raced back to tackle United’s Alejandro Garnacho, reaching a staggering 37.12 km/h in the process.
Not only was this the fastest any Premier League player has run so far this season, it was also the fourth highest speed recorded since data began being collected in the 2020/21 season.
Read More on Premier League
Incredibly, Van de Ven is responsible for three of the four top speeds recorded during this time, with his 37.38 km/h against Brentford last season topping the charts.
The 23-year-old’s season’s best against the Red Devils sees him place comfortably ahead of his fellow speed merchants.
Nottingham Forest‘s Anthony Elanga ranks second in the leaderboard, with his personal record of 35.90 km/h, over one km/h slower than van de Ven’s.
While Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland leads the Premier League goalscoring charts by some distance with ten goals in his first six games, he ranks third in the sprinting category.
Haaland’s top speed of 35.74 km/h places him narrowly ahead of Spurs‘ Timo Werner (35.69 km/h), who comes in fourth place.
With Arsenal bidding to lift a first league title in over 20 years, they will surely need some pace in their squad to see off opponents.
And winger Gabriel Martinelli could be the man to provide this, who ranks fifth among the English top-flight’s most rapid players at 35.57 km/h.
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Haaland is targeting a third consecutive Premier League Golden Boot, but even he is no match for Van de Ven’s paceCredit: Getty
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United duo Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have clocked impressive top speeds for the campaign so farCredit: Getty
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Van de Ven isn’t Spurs’ only speed demon, with teammate Werner also among the swiftest players in the English top-flightCredit: Getty
Man United stars Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford also feature in the top ten in this category, with the speedy Argentine sixth (35.48 km/h), and his fellow attacker tenth (35.53 km/h).
Meanwhile, Southampton may look to make greater use of striker Cameron Archer’s sharpness if they are to turn their disappointing start to the season around.
Saints have endured a difficult return to the Premier League, sitting a lowly 19th in the table and without a win in their opening six games.
This comes in spite of Archer’s running statistics, who has recorded the seventh top speed of any player at 35.47 km/h.
Elsewhere among the early season speed demons, Pedro Neto has continued to showcase his frightening pace at new club Chelsea following his summer arrival from Wolves.
The Portuguese winger’s impressive 35.40 km/h places him eighth fastest for the campaign.
But this is still over one km/h shy of the 36.86 km/h he hit against Luton last season, which is the seventh fastest top speed on record in the Premier League.
Brighton‘s £30million signing Yankuba Minteh’s 35.58 km/h completes the top ten, with the swift Gambian winger sure to net his first goal for the club sooner rather than later with such pace to burn.
Top 10 fastest Premier League players this season (km/h)
Chiesa is set to make his Liverpool debut this weekendCredit: Getty
He will be hoping to make the perfect start under Arne Slot and scoring in front of the Anfield crowd would give him exactly that.
It would also mean Chiesa writes his name in the history books as part of an exclusive club.
The forward would become only the third player to follow their father in scoring a goal at the iconic ground after Erling Haaland and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Chiesa’s dad, Enrico, found the net for Italy while playing at Euro ‘96, sweeping home at the Anfield Road end to equalise against the Czech Republic.
And that was a special moment for the Chiesa family as they have a picture framed in their home of the goal Enrico scored.
Upon the completion of Chiesa Jnr’s Liverpool transfer, he admitted he didn’t even realise it was at the home of his new club.
“I know this goal, I know this,” Chiesa said when he was shown the clip. “He didn’t tell me he scored this at Anfield.
“He didn’t tell me about this because usually when we speak about the Euros he doesn’t want to speak about it because I say I won it and he has not won it so…
“We have a picture of him celebrating after he scored that goal but honestly I didn’t know it was at Anfield so this is a great memory for my family, for my father, so I think he’s very happy for me to join Liverpool.”
Survival in the Premier League is often the aim for the majority of top-flight clubs and 40 points is usually seen as the magic number.
That is the benchmark for most teams, with only three sides relegated on more than 40 points since the top-flight switched to 20 in 1995.
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Nottingham Forest avoided relegation with a record-low points last seasonCredit: Getty
However, there have been plenty of times when fewer than 40 points have been required to stay in the Premier League.
And last season a new record was set, with Nottingham Forest managing to stay in the top flight despite finishing on only 32 points.
But what are the other lowest points totals to survive in Premier League history?
Read more on Premier League
Bradford City – 1999/2000 – 36 points
Bradford achieved what many thought would be impossible at the turn of the century when they defied the odds to beat the drop.
On the final day, they faced Champions League-chasing Liverpool, and it was expected that they would lose, but they beat the Reds 1-0 to maintain their place in the top-flight.
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It was some great escapeCredit: Getty
Fulham – 2007/08 – 36 points
The Cottagers won just five games all year, yet heading into the final day, they still had a chance to stay up.
They found themselves 2-0 down against Manchester City at half time but came back to win 3-2, and results elsewhere saw Fulham remain in the top-flight.
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Danny Murphy was on targetCredit: Getty
West Brom 2013/14 – 36 points
West Brom endured a horrible campaign under Spaniard Pepe Mel, winning just three of his 18 games in charge.
But the Baggies remained in the Premier League thanks to a 1-0 win over Norwich, which saw the Canaries relegated instead.
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The West Brom fans knew how important that win wasCredit: Getty
Southampton 2017/18 – 36 points
The 2017/18 campaign was one to forget for all connected with Southampton as the south coast-based club just avoided the drop.
The Saints scored less than a goal a game and won just seven times, but it was enough to keep them up above Swansea.
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Southampton just did enough to remain in the Premier League
Brighton 2018/19 – 36 points
Brighton‘s second season in the Premier League proved to be a tough one as they only scored 35 goals and actually won fewer games than Cardiff.
However, the Bluebirds’ lack of draws ensured they went down instead.
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Brighton’s survival came at Cardiff’s expense
Everton – 2022/23 – 36 points
The Toffees stayed in the Premier League on just 36 points two seasons ago, but they needed a win on the final day to do it.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s stunning volley sealed a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth that kept them up.
The goal relegated Leeds and Leicester to the Championship.
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Doucoure’s strike secured survivalCredit: Getty
Hull City – 2008/09 – 35 points
During their first Premier League campaign, the Tigers made a great start, winning six of their opening nine league games.
However, they won just two more all season and rapidly fell down the table, but that was still good enough to finish above Newcastle, who crashed into the Championship.
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Phil Brown once held his half-time team talk on the pitch after a shocking first half
West Ham – 2009/10 – 35 points
Before West Ham were a regular European team, they enjoyed their fair share of relegation battles, and none came as close as this one.
The Hammers won just once away from home all year and struggled to score goals, but somehow, they stayed up.
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Carlton Cole’s just about kept the Irons in the Premier LeagueCredit: Getty
Aston Villa – 2019/20 – 35 points
Villa staying up in this season is probably one of the most important results in the club’s recent history because if they hadn’t, there would be no Unai Emery.
But during the end of the 2019/20 season, played behind closed doors due to the COVID pandemic, the Villans managed to turn around their awful start and stay in the league.
And there was some controversy over how they stayed up, with an error by goal-line technology helping them out…
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This moment saved Villa from going down as the goal-line technology missed a blatant goal
West Brom – 2004/05 – 34 points
This is the second time the Baggies appear on this list, but this team is remembered a lot more fondly than the other because of an incredible final day.
West Brom were bottom at Christmas but managed to take it to the last day.
The Baggies won, but they needed Crystal Palace to drop points, which they duly did against Charlton, sending the Eagles down.
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This was one of the greatest escapes in top-flight history
Nottingham Forest – 2023/24 – 32 points
A new record was set last season.
Nottingham Forest managed to stay up on only 32 points.
Although they have an incredibly poor bottom three to thank with Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton all failing to reach the 30-point mark across the season.
Forest’s season included a four-point deduction which does impact things, but even with those four added back on, they’d be on this list!
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Forest just stayed up after appointing Nuno Espirito SantoCredit: AFP
Taiwo Awoniyi was left visibly distraught on the pitch after his shocking penalty miss sent Nottingham Forest crashing out of the Carabao Cup.
One talkSPORT pundit branded it ‘the worst penalty I’ve ever seen’ as the former Liverpool youngster fired the ball over the bar and almost out of the stadium and into the River Trent – leaving Sean Longstaff to fire in the winning spot kick to send Newcastle into the third round.
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Awoniyi was distraught after missing his penalty during the shoot-out defeat to NewcastleCredit: Getty
After a tense game where the Toon scored after just 18 seconds and summer signing Jota Silva fired in the equaliser in his first start for new club Forest, the game went straight to penalties – with extra-time only coming into play at the semi-final stage.
Newcastle – boosted by the returning Sandro Tonali from his betting ban – were the first to blink as Joelinton’s penalty was saved by Carlos Miguel, another Forest debutant.
But the hosts wasted their advantage as Ibrahim Sangare slammed his kick against the bar, setting up Awoniyi for his chance to keep Forest in the game.
But instead he sent the ball into orbit over Nottingham, to leave the striker inconsolable and his manager Nuno Espirito Santo dumbstruck on the sidelines.
“It’s an absolutely dreadful penalty,” said talkSPORT commentator Sam Matterface, speaking live from the City Ground.
“He’s spooned it over the bar, it’s so high it may well be bobbing down the Trent as we speak. Nuno Espirito Santo can’t believe what he’s seen.”
And no wonder the manager was stunned, as Sangare and Awoniyi’s misses ended Nottingham Forest’s incredible run of penalty victories.
This was the club’s first penalty shootout defeat in 18 years – a run that stretched back to their loss against Bristol City in the EFL Trophy [then LDV Vans Trophy] in 2006.
They were a League One club back then, and had enjoyed six consecutive penalty shootout successes before their Carabao Cup exit to Newcastle.
In fact, before Wednesday night, Forest had boasted a staggering 83 per cent win rate in penalty shoot-outs, winning 10 out of 12 across their professional history – that’s the best penalty record in the entire Premier League.
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Awoniyi skied his effort over the bar and high into the stands at the City GroundCredit: Getty
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Awoniyi’s miss from the spot put an end to Forest’s winning run in penalty shoot-outs that stretched back 18 yearsCredit: Getty
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Forest boss Nuno was left stunned on the sidelines, according to talkSPORT’s Sam MatterfaceCredit: Getty
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Sean Longstaff scored the winning penalty to send Newcastle to the Carabao Cup third roundCredit: Getty
Meanwhile, Newcastle were at the other end of that particular table with a measly 27 per cent win rate in shoot-outs. How the tables turn, eh?
Back to Awoniyi, the poor guy. Nuno couldn’t believe what had just happened, and neither could former Arsenal star Adrian Clarke, who was watching the game alongside Matterface for talkSPORT at the City Ground.
“It’s a horrible, terrible, terrible effort from Awoniyi, it’s almost reached the upper tier – it’s one of the worst penalties I’ve ever seen!
“It’s quite a lackadaisical run-up, but then he just skies it, I would say almost twice as high as the crossbar. It was MILES over! Nowhere near, just not close, it was really, really awful.
“It was astonishingly bad. He wanted the ground to swallow him up, he was inconsolable wasn’t he. He’s got his head in his shirt, his shirt is pulled up over his head.
“He’s distraught because he knows that was the key moment in the shoot-out.
“Pressure can do funny things to players, it’s not a technique thing, he just crumbled in the key moment. He was probably very tired. He probably didn’t expect to last the 90 minutes, hasn’t had a lot of football, he’s been in and out of the team with injuries for so long, he was probably knackered!
“But that’s no excuse for such a poor penalty. It’s tough luck on Nottingham Forest, but I have to say just about the right team has gone through.”
Nottingham Forest have seen a £25million bid rejected by Arsenal for striker Eddie Nketiah, talkSPORT understands.
The 25-year-old has been made available for purchase having fallen down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta.
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Nketiah is behind Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus in the pecking order at ArsenalCredit: Getty
Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are preferred ahead of the one-cap England international at the Emirates.
Nketiah, who is tied down in north London until 2027, was an unused substitute in Arsenal’s opening day 2-0 win over Wolves.
His future has been uncertain all summer, with French giants Marseille having multiple bids turned down by the Gunners for his services.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side had a £17m offer knocked back last month, before having a £23m bid turned down.
Bournemouth were then believed to be keen on the forward to replace Dominic Solanke, only for them to sign Evanilson from Porto instead.
And now Forest have tried their luck to land Nketiah, where they have made him their top target.
Despite having a £25m offer plus add-ons rejected, negotiations between Arsenal and the east Midlands side continue.
Earlier in the summer, talkSPORT revealed how Arsenal valued the Hale End graduate at a whopping £50m.
But they have since been forced to lower their demands having had no takers.
It is understood that the Premier League title challengers are now seeking a fee in the region of £30m-£35m.
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Nketiah has scored 38 goals in 168 games for Arsenal since breaking into the first teamCredit: AFP
Forest have also eyed up Feyenoord’s Santiago Gomez as an option up top to provide competition for Taiwo Awoniyi and Chris Wood.
However it is Nketiah that has been identified by Steve Cooper as their main priority.
Nketiah broke into Arsenal’s first team under Arsene Wenger during the 2017/18 season.
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In 168 games in all competitions, he has found the back of the net on 38 occasions.
But he hasn’t scored since December 2023, which came in a 1-1 draw away at PSV in the Champions League.
And he is also coming up to a year since his last Premier League goals, where he banged in a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Sheffield United in October 2023.
