Taiwo Awoniyi: Nigeria striker wins man of the match against Chelsea

Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi was voted the Man of the Match as Nottingham Forest held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw in a Premier League fixture played at the City Ground on New Year’s Day.

Awoniyi the star signing for Nottingham Forest from Union Berlin at the start of the season was given the key role to lead their attack, had to hold his own against experienced Chelsea center-backs Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly.

Raheem Sterling scored in the 16th minute to put Chelsea in front as Nottingham Forest went to the halftime break a goal down.

before Serge Aurier got his first goal for the club in the 63rd minute to put Nottingham Forest back on level term.

In the 88th minute, Steve Cooper took off Awoniyi to loud applause from the fans as the game ended in a draw.

The Nigeria international was an outlet for Nottingham Forest all game chasing down loose balls and using his physicality against the Chelsea backline.

His effort was crowned with a Man of the Match award despite not scoring in the game. After a hard-fought duel, Awoniyi was voted by the fans on social media for his performance by the Nottingham Forest ahead if scorer Serge Aurier, Morgan Gibbs-White and Willy Boly.

Taiwo Awoniyi’s game by numbers vs Chelsea:

◉ 12 duels contested (most)

◎ 6 duels won

◎ 2 tackles won

◎ 2 chances created

◎ 2 fouls won

◎ 2 shots

◎ 0.24xG

Awoniyi was the star of the game for Nottingham Forest but his compatriot Dennis was an unused substitute.