Malo Gusto Shirt Pull Leads to Awoniyi VAR Penalty

awoniyi put Nottingham Forest ahead after barely 90 seconds at Stamford Bridge, and Malo Gusto soon turned a second Chelsea setback into a VAR penalty. Chelsea were already chasing the game when the handball-style hold on Taiwo Awoniyi turned into a yellow card for the defender and a penalty for Forest.

Gusto And Awoniyi At Stamford Bridge

Gusto tugged on Awoniyi’s shirt as the striker tried to reach a cross from Dilane Bakwa. Anthony Taylor did not spot the incident live, then went to the monitor and saw Gusto grab a handful of the shirt before Awoniyi went down.

After the review, Taylor announced: “After review, Chelsea number 27 deliberately pulls his opponent, therefore my final decision is penalty kick and yellow card.” Igor Jesus finished the chance from the spot, and Chelsea were 2-0 down after 17 first-half minutes.

Taylor’s Review And Forest’s Lead

The Premier League’s Match Centre later said VAR overturned the original no-penalty decision against Nottingham Forest. The key detail was the angle of the cross: the source says the ball was way over Awoniyi’s head, which is why the incident was treated as a foul rather than a goal-scoring opportunity.

Alan Smith called it a “definite shirt pull” and added, “It’s just ridiculous, though. Try and get goal-side, don’t just tug his shirt. Such lazy defending from Malo Gusto, and it’s cost his team.” Mark Schwarzer was even blunter before the call went to Taylor, saying, “Surely it has to be? It's not just a small tug, it's a full pull. I would be absolutely flabbergasted if this isn't given.”

Chelsea’s Early Hole

The timing sharpened the impact for Chelsea. They had lost their previous five Premier League matches in a row without scoring a single goal, and this match had already flipped against them before the first half was 20 minutes old. Forest did not just get a penalty; they turned Chelsea’s early pressure into a two-goal deficit that left the home side needing a quick reply.