Calum McFarlane picks out defender as rare positive from Nottingham Forest defeat

Chelsea’s hopes of finishing in the top four are over after the side suffered a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday.

The Blues welcomed Vitor Pereira’s Tricky Trees to Stamford Bridge for what was a crucial match in the side’s hopes of European qualification.

It was another embarrassing performance. A brace from Taiwo Awoniyi and a third from Igor Jesus made the Blues’ mountain too big to climb — not helped by Cole Palmer missing a penalty kick just before half time.

Joao Pedro managed to score a superb bicycle kick to pull one back but it was far too late in the game and saw Forest leave London with all the points.

Despite the shocking performance, and even worse result, there was one rare positive, though.

Calum McFarlane happy to see Levi Colwill back

Levi Colwill was named among the Chelsea substitutes for the first time all season.

The 23-year-old suffered an ACL injury at the very start of pre-season and has been ruled out ever since.

Having completed his rehabilitation, he featured for the Under-21’s last week before being reintroduced to first team football recently.

Colwill was not risked from the start but was introduced after half time and came on in place of Tosin Adarabioyo.

Although the Englishman wasn’t able to prevent Forest from claiming victory, his long-awaited return was a huge positive, and interim boss Calum McFarlane, who spoke to Chelsea’s official website, confirmed the significance of the defender’s comeback.

“It’s one of the only positives (from the Nottingham Forest game).

It’s great to have Levi back and we know what he brings to this team. We’re hoping he can help us moving forward.”

Chelsea’s next game sees them travel to Anfield on May 9 to take on Liverpool. There is hope Colwill will be afforded more minutes as he continues to get back up to full match fitness.

Colwill will be expecting new centre-back partner from next season

Given the Blues’ disappointing collapse — especially in the Premier League — there is huge expectation that BlueCo will go big in the summer.

While signing at least one new forward will also be on the agenda following Liam Delap’s failed move from Ipswich Town, a new centre-back will be the priority.

Several names, including Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi and Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix, have been linked already but little progress has been made on either deal.

Although it remains to be seen which central defender the club will push for, one thing is for sure, with Colwill set to play a big part next season, he will be expecting to have to form a solid partnership with a player he has not yet lined up next to.