CHELSEA 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED: Marc Cucurella scored a late header to hand his Chelsea side a huge boost in their hopes of securing a place in the Champions League next season
Marc Cucurella scored a late winner against Manchester United to put Chelsea on the verge of securing qualification to the Champions League. The Blues started the night in fifth place but Aston Villa’s win over Tottenham put the pressure on.
The Red Devils did select a full-strength team, with Harry Maguire seeing a stunning first-half goal ruled out for offside. Reece James had the hosts’ best chance of the opening period crashing a brilliant volley off the post.
The game came alive after the break, with both teams seeing penalty shouts waved away by referee Chris Kavanagh. But Cucurella proved to be the hero, powering a header past Andre Onana from Reece James’ cross.
Despite having a stronger bench, United were unable to claw their way back into the game. The defeat leaves Ruben Amorim’s side down in 16th place in the Premier League, though their focus is fully on Wednesday’s Europa League final against Spurs.
Chelsea meanwhile have their fate in their own hands and will finish in the top five if they match Aston Villa’s result on the final day. Here, Mirror Football looks at the biggest talking points from Friday’s clash.
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Chelsea’s European boost
Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League remain fully in their own hands heading into the final day. Friday’s win means Enzo Maresca’s side are now fourth in the Premier League table.
While Aston Villa beat Tottenham to rise above Manchester City, Pep Guardiola’s men have a game in hand on the Midlands side. That means that Chelsea need to only match Villa’s result on the final day to secure a top five place.
Unai Emery’s men will travel to Manchester United, while the Blues will make the trip north to face Nottingham Forest next Sunday.
Amorim’s puzzling choice
While Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou opted to rest a number of his top stars ahead of the Europa League final, United chief Ruben Amorim went in a different direction. He instead opted to select a full-strength squad for the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, Patrick Dorgu, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire all featured for the Red Devils. It was a huge risk for Amorim to take, given the significance of next week’s final.
Win in Bilbao and United will qualify for the Champions League. While Amorim may be focusing on keeping his side match sharp, it was a puzzling choice to include so many top stars. His side may even suffer a hit to their vulnerable morale having slipped to an 18th Premier League defeat of the season.
Caicedo hits back
Moises Caicedo was a surprising absentee from the shortlist for the Premier League’s Player of the Year award. The midfielder has been a driving force behind the Blues’ push for Champions League qualification this season.
But Ryan Gravenberch, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Declan Rice, Alexander Isak, Bryan Mbeumo, Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White were instead the eight men selected to battle it out.
Caicedo showed up whoever left his name off the list in style, running the show from midfield. He completed 94 percent of his passes, made seven recoveries and won five of his defensive duels.
Bad habits
Young players from both Chelsea and United have clearly been picking up some bad habits. First, Blues starlet Tyrique George threw himself to the ground while trying to round Andre Onana.
Referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot, but he overturned his decision after replays showed Onana had got the ball and George was falling before being touched. Minutes later United star Amad earned a place in Kavanagh’s bad books.
The winger went down in the box while trying to slalom past a number of Chelsea defenders. Kavanagh booked the United man with replays showing he had not been touched.
Cucurella the hero
Just when the game appeared to be petering out into a bore draw, Marc Cucurella popped up to rescue Chelsea’s season. The left-back pulled away from his marker Noussair Mazraoui to find space in the United box.
He then leapt high before powering in Reece James’ cross with a brilliant header. The ball flew past Andre Onana and into the net, with Cucurella racing away to celebrate.
It was a goal that could prove to be crucial to Chelsea’s hopes of claiming Champions League qualification. And it continues Cucurella’s run of only scoring in Premier League wins this season.
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