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We must be able to distinguish between early season performance, mid-season performance, and end-of-season performance. The end of the season is the most crucial time because all the top teams will compete to continue winning the remaining matches, and get a ticket or a better place in the next season.
And as I mentioned a few months ago, Nottingham Forest is indeed very handsome, surprising but at the end of the season it looks like they will be below fifth place in the standings. The reason is because Nottingham Forest's experience and players do not have or have players whose abilities are equal to other top teams. And this will affect the end of the season because other top teams will play more seriously and also be careful to be able to win the remaining crucial matches. And next season I think Nottingham Forest will not change and it all depends on Nuno Espirito Santo and he must be able to have some players who really stand out and for Chelsea's problem I think pure victory is indeed part of his strategy, a one-goal victory is very valuable in a crucial match and securing it until the end of the match is a smart way.
Everyone speaks about "experience" and "top teams getting serious", but if you look at this season data, the Premier League's supposed predictability really hides a ton of volatility. For instance, Forest dropped out of the European spots; but, what really tanked them was the gap in squad depth and that PSR (Profit & Sustainability Rule). Especially with the calendar now distorted by the new UCL Swiss style, you cannot just go serious if you have already ran your legs off with a tiny bench or spent half the spring avoiding injuries
On Chelsea, sure, Maresca's 1-0 seems clever, but you cannot overlook that they are the youngest squad in PL history (avg age under 24). and week after week, their xG remains more than their actual goals. Is it strategy, or is it only the finishing still not clinical? I'd say it's more about changing the relationship than just managing the game. Unless they transform all that possession into cold, hard goals, even those tight wins are unsustainable. If BlueCo maintains this youth-first approach and adds one suitable striker, the table may appear far less familiar than anyone would have expected next season