Chelsea captain Reece James has developed a reputation as one of the best free-kick takers in European football and has found the net from set-pieces for both club and country in recent times.

So when Marc Guiu was brought down 20 yards from goal, the majority inside the City Ground expected to see the Blues skipper step up.

However, James shaped up to take it, before rolling the ball to the side, allowing Neto to curl a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.

Neto explained: ‘Reece is an unbelievable free-kick taker and to be honest, at Chelsea and even at Wolves, I did not take many free-kicks but I asked Reece if he wanted me to take it and he said, ‘Let me see’.

‘We spoke and he said he wanted to roll the ball to me, and we are really happy with the end result.’

‘It was not a debate,' he continued when asked about their 'debate' before taking it. 'We know Reece takes free-kicks really well but we wanted to give a little bit of a surprise and we are really happy that it went the way we wanted and the ball went in.

‘It wasn’t that we saw a gap. It was something that we worked on before the last game [against Liverpool] as well. Normally when you roll the ball, the wall has the tendency to turn their back and the goalkeeper to make a step to the side to see the ball, so it was a really good goal and we are really happy.’

The 3-0 victory at the City Ground came swiftly after the most recent international break. The first window of the season back in September was followed by Chelsea drawing with Brentford and then losing to Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

The Blues started a little slow against Nottingham Forest too, as the hosts created a number of dangerous opportunities, but a much improved second period - capped off by three goals - helped Enzo Maresca's men leave with the points.

And Neto acknowledged: ‘After the last international break, we didn’t start on the right foot and today we made sure we were going in the right way.

‘We have to keep working hard. In the first half we did not have the ball as much as we wanted but in the second half you could see – playing on this stage where playing at Nottingham Forest at home is never easy – we came with more personality, we got the goals and we are really happy.’

He continued: ‘In the first half, I think they were better than us. We had some opportunities in the first half but we didn’t control the game like we wanted to.

‘In the second half, we wanted to do better, we wanted to be more aggressive and we wanted to have more of the ball.

‘The [Josh Acheampong] goal we scored in the second half was very important and we were happy to score two more.’

It wasn't just the second goal which Neto had a hand in. It was his drive to the byline and pin-point left-footed cross which led to Josh Acheampong's opener and the Portuguese also sent in the corner which was half-cleared for James to volley in the third.

‘We work on it every day and every week,' Neto said of his cross for Acheampong's first professional goal. 'We are very happy for Josh as well.’

He may only be 25 and with the best years ahead of him, but with more than 200 first team outings and 21 Portugal caps to his name, Neto is one of the most experienced members of the Chelsea squad.

His tireless displays and personality mean he has become one of the leaders in the dressing room, something he is very much aware of.

‘I think leadership is something that is in my personality,' he explained. 'When things are tough, I want to step up and help my team-mates. It is something I try to do every day - to work hard and to help the team – so I am really happy that I was able to help the team.’