Chelsea vs Manchester United LIVE: Blues seal imperative victory with top five place at stake
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United: Enzo Maresca’s collected a crucial three points to keep themselves inside the Champions League places
Marc Cucurella’s invaluable header proved the difference as Chelsea emerged with an imperative win over struggling Manchester United to keep their Champions League destiny in their own hands.
Man United thought they had the lead when Harry Maguire volleyed home from a delightful Bruno Fernandes cross in the first half, only to be ruled a shoulder offside by VAR.
Chelsea continued to be frustrated despite growing into the game, with Reece James coming closest in the first half with a stunning effort that struck the post.
But it was James who inspired the eventual winner, pirouetting on the edge of the box before picking out Cucurella who headed home, putting Chelsea on course to a victory that maintained their place in the top five.
They now need just one more win - on the final day - to ensure Champions League qualification for next term, with Aston Villa breathing down their neck after beating Tottenham earlier in the evening.
Relive all the action from Stamford Bridge with our live blog below:
Chelsea go into the final day in control of their Champions League destiny
Next up: Nottingham Forest away.
Another team vying for Champions League qualification, it will all come down to the Premier League final day.
What went down at Villa Park?
Aston Villa boosted their hopes of a Champions League return after a 2-0 victory over Tottenham, who had more than one eye on Wednesday’s Europa League final.
Villa’s memorable run to the quarter-finals of this season’s competition gave them the taste for more and they boosted their hopes with an eighth win from their last nine Premier League games.
This was probably the biggest home banker of the campaign given where Spurs’ focus lay, but Villa made hard work of it, needing second-half goals from Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara to get the job done.
However, Chelsea’s win over Manchester United later on Friday night means they have to win their final game of the season at Old Trafford and hope other teams, including Enzo Maresca’s side and Manchester City, drop points.
In-form Aston Villa close on Champions League return with Tottenham victory
Baffling stat shows just how bad things are for Man United
This is mind-blowing.
As per Opta, Ruben Amorim has won 24 points in 26 Premier League games, a points per game ratio of 0.92. This is lower than Paul Jewell's Premier League points per game (0.94), who managed 24 winless games at Derby when they finished on 11 points in 2007-08.
Amorim has previously said that this is one of the worst Manchester United teams ever. I’m not sure you need the words “Manchester United” in that statement.
Reece James raring to be 'back where the club belongs'
"I think that's where the club belongs, in the Champions League,” he told Sky Sports. “Competing in the best competitions.
"People like to write us off and call us inexperienced. We played against a very experienced United team today. We were there and we won the game. We got what we needed to do."
Ruben Amorim reflects on another loss
"I think we started great, well but in the final third we needed to be a bit more aggressive,” Amorim told BBC Sport.
“We were there, we faced the game in the right way. It was a bit of bad luck today. Sometimes we want to press and to score a goal but we lost a little bit of concentration.
"It was different but you never like when you lose the game. We were competitive, that was clear.
"We have to prepare for each competition, with five days, we can rest. We have five days to prepare [for the Europa League final], two days to fully recover and then two days to prepare.
"Of course, we are excited to be in the final. Since day one the pressure has been there but I live quite well with the pressure. When you have the final of any cup, we show up so we are prepared for that."
Marc Cucurella on 'creating something special'
“We are very happy, we deserved a moment like this,” he told BBC Sport. “We know that we needed to stay in the game and we gave all that we had and we have three points that I think we deserve.
"It is very important (to get Champions League football), step by step we are creating something special and now only two games left to achieve something special.
“The most important thing is it depends on us so we have to play the game on Sunday and then we are thinking about the [Conference League] final. Today is a moment to enjoy because we work all season for these moments so now we have ambitions to achieve these things."
Ruben Amorim confirms Man United avoid any injury scares ahead of Europa League final
"In the end I looked at all the players and I think they are ok,” Amorim told BBC Sport.
A rare positive for Man United.
Enzo Maresca offers post-match thoughts
"It was quite confident because I know how difficult it is to play against United,” he told Sky Sports.
"We expected a very tough game. They played very well. I was completely confident, overall, it was a game that we could have a good moment and score a goal.
"I used to watch five, six, seven games when we play against a team. I have never watched them [Man Utd] so aggressive - they were man to man, and it was very difficult.
"Off the ball I think we played a fantastic game. The team was very aggressive until the end, we tried to press higher, and I think we deserved to win the game.
"It is nice to work on some solutions and then you score.”
Chelsea hold their ‘billion-pound’ bottle to keep Champions League destiny in own hands
Chelsea’s destiny was slipping from their grasp. They sat in sixth, the time ticking away, the verdicts that, once again, they were blue billion-pound bottle jobs growing nearer.
Until the man who was one of the first of their £1.2bn spending spree, who, for a while, had looked one of the worst of them, intervened.
Marc Cucurella’s goal means Chelsea are one win away, even if that one game is away at Nottingham Forest, who harbour similar aspirations of a berth in the Champions League.
Richard Jolly reports from Stamford Bridge:
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