Chelsea beat Leicester in the Premier League to boost their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, four days after losing the FA Cup final.
Thomas Tuchel’s side came out on top in a crucial Premier League game that sees them move into 3rd and almost surely secure their spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League, regardless of the Champions League final result.
Chelsea 2-1 Leicester City
Antonio Rudiger scored the opening goal in the 47th minute and Jorginho secured the victory for the Blues at Stamford Bridge in the 66th minute from the penalty spot to give the London side a crucial 3 points in the Premier League top 4 race.
Kelechi Iheanacho scored for Leicester in the 76th minute but it was too little too late for the Foxes who are now under threat of finishing outside the Champions League places by the narrowest of margins for a second consecutive season.
“It was a strong performance and well-deserved performance,” Tuchel told BBC Sport.
“[This is] no time for celebration, the job is not done yet, two more games to go. We’re very happy to play in front of supporters, it was a huge difference today.”
Chelsea’s top-four hopes are now in their own hands but Leicester are in real danger of dropping out of the top four late in the season again. They were in a strong position to finish 3rd in the league last season and ended up finishing 5th.
This season, they were well-placed to finish in the top 4 again, sitting pretty in 2nd but they lost their way once again and are now dependant on Liverpool to drop points to qualify for the Champions League.
Manchester United drew earlier in the day against Fulham but that was enough for the Red Devils as Chelsea’s victory means that 71 points is enough for the 20-time English league champions to secure the runners-up finish.
Thomas Tuchel has turned around Chelsea’s fortunes this season. (Photo by Glyn Kirk/PA Images via Getty Images)
Chelsea face Aston Villa in the final game of the season, which will be a tricky game and Leicester have the toughest task of the 3 teams battling for the last 2 as they face Tottenham Hotspur.
Liverpool face Burnley and Crystal Palace and dropped points in any of these games could be extremely damaging to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Chelsea will be guaranteed a Champions League place if they beat Aston Villa on the final day. Even if they finish fifth, they could qualify if they beat Manchester City in the Champions League final on 29th May but they certainly do not want to be dependant on that game.
Liverpool and Leicester could be separated by goal difference if they win their games – although the Reds clearly have the edge.
If Liverpool beat Burnley and Crystal Palace by just one goal each, Leicester would need to beat Tottenham 3-0 on the final day! They would need to win by more if the Reds get bigger victories in either game so the Foxes need to hope for Liverpool to drop points.
If either the Clarets or Eagles deny the Reds, then it is still in Leicester’s hands and a victory will do the job.
“We said it all along, the players have had a great season but it would have to be after 38 games,” said Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers.
“We have to get the points on Sunday then see where we are. If we don’t get in the Champions League it has still been a great season.”
