Chelsea expelled Blues of the day by defeating Nottingham Forest on the city ground by defeating Nottingham Forest 1-0 on the city ground, returning to the Champions League and commissioning its hosts to participate in the conference league.

It provides a positive ending for a challenging domestic campaign for Enzo Maresca and his younger side, who face questions about their mindset and lack of experience. This also caused a bullish response from the head coach, who told skeptics “f ***” in his post-match comments.

Chelsea knows that regardless of the results achieved by their Champions League rivals Manchester City, Newcastle and Aston Villa, they will all qualify for the first time since the 2021/22 season and win over the Forest.

Their shocking record of winning a victory in the last 10 games has not inspired their confidence, nor has the fact that they have lost in the other top 7 of the season.

But Levi Colwill - his own Huddersfield goal in the championship game promoted the Forest three years ago to a top flight - put Chelsea in the front shortly after halftime.

The failure of Newcastle and Villa means Chelsea has the ability to attract and still find themselves in the top five, but their focus is rarely shaken when they keep forest blunt attacks with a firm defensive performance.

In two Chelsea defenses were damaged, the usually reliable Chris Wood could not change his chances. If he did, the Forest would have occupied their position in the Champions League.

For Forests, which nearly avoided relegation last season, the qualification of the conference league remains a remarkable achievement. However, Chelsea will be part of Europe's largest stage in the next semester.

Chelsea wins the battle of nerves as family forms desert forest

The feeling before the kickoff was that a city ground was shot, coupled with the forest's body and intense performance, was enough to see an inexperienced Chelsea team, and the Chelsea side was bullied by Newcastle in previous games.

Home fans played their part - further encouraged them before the appearance of Taiwan Awoniyi before the opening after an injury earlier this month - but their team never left. Perhaps understandably, the nerves between the two sides help to make this tense and low-quality encounter.

The first start of the game took 30 minutes, and Pedro Neto was void after being forced to take action, as No. 9 replaced the timeout Nicolas Jackson - volleying the tamed volley when unmarked.

Wood then did a similar trick on the other end, missing open goal despite defeating Robert Sanchez.

The destinations of the last three Champions League venues are unpredictable, but Colville provided some sense of order shortly after the break, poking Neto's Scuff Ball on the box.

Chelsea’s unusual side is the one who loves to dominate the ball, admitting more than 50% of the property to the Forest, perhaps unsure what to do about them believing Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

If so, then they are proven to be correct. The forest was so deadly in the counterattack, but Chelsea fell down the forest, limiting the space provided to Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga, while Tosin Adarabioyo, Colwill and Sanchez stood up to meet the scene threat from the host.

This is not to say that forests cannot create anything. Deep in the injury time, Wood was picked out from the box, but his first touch was willful, his second putting the ball high and wide.

This is a measure of Forest’s season, as they may be a little overwhelmed about entering the conference league. They remained solid in the top five, but their family form abandoned them when it mattered, not winning five wins on the city ground at the end of the season.

Chelsea players ran towards the departure game during the celebrations when home fans were disappointed, showing how desperate they all saw the club back into the Champions League. Attention now turns to Wednesday's conference league final - winning the game, Enzo Maresca will reach his two biggest priorities from his first season.

Maresca is delivered - but will define success or failure next

Sky Sports Analysis Laura Hunter:

Chelsea's final day win - confirming the Champions League qualification - was the first time Enzo Maresca's side won, keeping a clean sheet away from home since September. A crazy statistic sums up some chaotic movement.

On that day, almost everything was conspiring to serve Chelsea. Levi Colwill scored a tough goal. Chris Wood missed a pair of babysitters, and with the frustrations of the city’s ground, the young men of Maresca were tied together to keep cool.

Chelsea's average age at the start of the league XI this season is 24 years and 36 days, the youngest ever. Sometimes it does show up. Maresca is the first time in the Premier League to try to coach a group without a leader and figurehead. However, after two years of absence, Chelsea returned to the top of Europe.

Maresca cuts his work to make the team similar to something coherent. But the temptation of Champions League football will help attract the right help this summer. This is an important and necessary component in the recovery of the club, which once challenged the highest honors year by year.

The real question remains: Where can they go from here?

Maresca is glad to prove the skeptic is wrong

Chelsea Head coach Enzo Maresca:

“Honestly, I have no questions about the players, I say the questions are from outside. They say we can’t win on this court because we are too young because we have no experience.

“Unfortunately for them, they’re all wrong, those (think) they’re factual, they have answers to everything. In English, we say ‘F Off’ to everyone. Players, they deserve it, I’ve said before, they’re amazing.

"The city is lost here. Arsenal is attracted here. Liverpool is attracted here. Chelsea won. It's not easy. Players, they show their performance."

Nuno: It's hard to accept - but I'm proud

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo:

“I think it’s time to reflect, but as a coaching staff we have to thank the players because they work very hard every day. A great team. We have to thank the fans for their incredible support.

“I think it’s a good season. We’ve been able to improve a lot of things and have a great platform. We should be proud. We’re united.

"Today is very difficult. We were disappointed, but it was good. It was a very demanding season. It was not easy to talk to you guys because it was tough today. We knew the last game would be difficult and we were short."

The story of the game in statistics...

Sky Sports Showcases 215 Live PL Games for Next Season

Starting next season, Sky Sports' Premier League coverage will increase from 128 games to at least 215 games.

Of all TV series games next season, 80% are in Sky Sports.