The relief inside Stamford Bridge was palpable. Just as Chelsea feared their Champions League dreams fading away, Marc Cucurella nodded the biggest goal of their season and a firecracker inside west London ignited.
For 71 minutes they had toiled, struggling to find a way past a dismal Manchester United team that have now not won in the Premier League for eight matches. But then came salvation: a sumptuous Reece James pirouette, his beautiful dinked ball to the far post and a powerful header from the floppy-haired Spaniard. Who needs effective attackers when full-backs can do the business?
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Related: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United: Premier League – live reaction
With only a visit to Nottingham Forest remaining, Chelsea are guaranteed to occupy a Champions League spot heading into the final day.
For United, there was at least enough endeavour to offer a modicum of encouragement. But more important matters than another Premier League defeat await, with attention now turning to their Europa League final against Tottenham on Wednesday.
In stark contrast to Ange Postecoglou – who fielded an almost entirely second-string Spurs side in defeat at Aston Villa – Ruben Amorim had determined it was worth taking a calculated risk in naming perhaps the strongest XI at his disposal. Given United’s immediate future hinges solely on upcoming events in Bilbao, it was nothing if not bold.
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“Sometimes the best way to prepare for a final is to compete,” he explained pre-match, suggesting that most of the injuries his players had suffered this season occurred during training. That meant sending out his only three fit senior centre-backs and crossing his fingers that all troops would emerge unscathed.
It was no easy task in the opening exchanges to spot which of the two sides are slugging it out near the top of the table and which sit embarrassingly close to the relegation zone. Routinely struggling to play out from the back and outmuscled in the middle of the pitch, the hosts received an almighty let off 16 minutes into proceedings when United thought they had taken a well-earned lead.
Displaying his newly developed penchant for masquerading as a centre-forward, Harry Maguire expertly turned Bruno Fernandes’ in-swinging cross goalwards, only for the video assistant referee to spot that his shoulder had strayed offside as the ball was delivered.
If most United fans were happy enough to cede victory in exchange for a clean bill of health, the visiting players could certainly not be accused of shirking challenges. Fernandes’ intense physical battle with Moisés Caicedo frequently skirted the lines of legality, with little concern for personal protection on either part.
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The Maguire reprieve seemed to awaken Chelsea, who came close to what would have been a spectacular opener of their own when captain James cut across a bouncing ball from range, fizzing the sweetest of strikes with the outside of his boot against the United upright.
But for all their domination as the first half wore on – Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke desperately endeavouring to create – Enzo Maresca’s side paid for a lack of potency in front of goal. Appeals for a penalty went unanswered when Enzo Fernández’s volley smashed into Rasmus Højlund’s hand from close range, and it was not until the clock ticked into first-half injury time that they finally hit the target, André Onana keeping out Palmer’s deflected looping shot.
Leading the line on his first Premier League start, 19-year-old Tyrique George headed for the changing room having touched the ball only six times all half. Amid news that Villa’s victory had pushed Chelsea down to sixth in the live table, a growing sense of unease began permeating among the home supporters, who started to fear losing control of their own top-five destiny.
If there was one player they could not stomach scoring it was Chelsea youth product Mason Mount, who was routinely jeered in possession throughout. Thankfully for them, the England midfielder wasted an excellent chance, slicing wide soon after half-time following some fine work from Amad Diallo.
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Then, on the hour, came the game’s second big VAR intervention. Having had precious little ball to work with, George needed no encouragement to go down as he felt the force of the onrushing Onana inside the United penalty area, prompting referee Chris Kavanagh to point to the spot. Onana was instantly appalled, Kavanagh was sent to the screen and justice prevailed when replays showed a clear goalkeeper glove on the ball.
There were no doubts about the veracity of Cucurella’s perfectly taken header though, and Chelsea should really have doubled their lead minutes later when Madueke drove wide with only Onana to beat. United continued to huff, but Amorim began ringing the changes and thoughts began to drift to Bilbao.
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