Chelsea star screams at Alejandro Garnacho minutes after coach forced to intervene

Alejandro Garnacho felt the wrath of Chelsea forward Pedro Neto in a furious moment during the first half of their game against Nottingham Forest. The Blues went into the match without a number of key players, including their talisman Cole Palmer. Regular midfield duo Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandes were also left out of the starting line-up at the City Ground.

Garnacho was selected to play on the left flank with Neto on the opposite side of the pitch. It was a difficult start to the game for the former Manchester United winger, who struggled to make an impact in spite of his best efforts. At one point, he was screamed at by Neto after failing to get himself into the right attacking position.

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Neto whipped a cross towards the back post in the hope that Garnacho would be able to meet it, but he was nowhere to be seen and it bounced out for a goal kick. In response, the Portuguese forward sent some angry words in the direction of his team-mate.

The incident came just minutes after Chelsea coach Willy Caballero was involved in a frank exchange with Andrey Santos. The former Blues goalkeeper was directing the team with Enzo Maresca sitting in the stands after receiving a touchline ban.

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Caballero was seemingly discussing Santos' positioning in midfield, which was not up to scratch in the opening 45 minutes. He was picked to start the match in place of the injured Palmer, who is expected to miss several weeks with a groin problem.

Garnacho and Santos were later withdrawn at the break as Maresca made several changes in an attempt to take control of the match.

They had the desired impact as Chelsea raced into a two-goal lead, with Josh Acheampong scoring the opener and Neto squeezing a free-kick into the bottom corner.

It came after Garnacho said that he was expecting a tough time against Forest, who have endured a poor start to the campaign under Ange Postecoglou.

Read more: Man Utd and Chelsea change stadium capacities as Blues let fewer fans in

Speaking to Chelsea's official website, the winger said: "It’s a hard moment for them, but you never know in football. They may not have been winning games, but they have good players and will want to win. We have to be ready.

"We are in a good position in the league, especially after we had a little bit of bad luck with red cards. For example, the game against Brighton, we should win that game. And the game at United, if we play 11 against 11, I feel we would be on top.

"But we are okay. I think it's important to build from the last win against Liverpool and try to win again to be up there."

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