Chelsea 1–0 Man Utd: Takeaways From Crucial Premier League Battle | OneFootball

Chelsea emerged victorious at Stamford Bridge on Friday evening, with a 1–0 triumph over Manchester United keeping them in control of their own Champions League fate.

The Blues needed to win to stay in control and, despite never looking their best, got the three points when Marc Cucurella popped up with a header midway through the second half, sending Chelsea fans home happy.

United, meanwhile, will now quickly switch their focus to Wednesday‘s season-defining Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Man Utd‘s Risky Lineup

Fernandes ran off an early knock. / IMAGO/Sportimage

Ruben Amorim has openly admitted his focus is on the Europa League final, and with that in mind, most assumed he would send out a second-string unit here and protect his biggest names for the final.

Instead, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Harry Maguire were among those to start the game, with the latter even completing 90 minutes. It was a huge risk from Amorim and fans were watching through their fingers when Fernandes went down holding his ankle early on. Thankfully, it was little more than a knock.

With ten minutes to go and still chasing a result, Amorim made his intentions clear when he withdrew Fernandes and stand-in centre-back Luke Shaw. Sure, it would have been nice to win here, but Wednesday's final had to take priority at some point.

Chelsea‘s European Hopes Head to Final Day

Cucurella was the unlikely hero. / IMAGO/Pro Sports Images

The task for Chelsea heading into this game was a simple one on paper. Victory would see them remain in control of their Champions League destiny, while anything less would see them playing catch-up after Aston Villa‘s victory over Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the evening.

It was not an entirely convincing performance from Chelsea who, for large parts of this game, seemed determined to be held by a side labouring down in 16th in the standings, but Marc Cucurella‘s header keeps them in control.

Nottingham Forest await on the final day of the season. If Chelsea win, they will be playing Champions League football next season. It‘s as easy as that.

Momentum Eludes Red Devils at Crucial Time

Man Utd must now quickly focus on Wednesday. / IMAGO/Every Second Media

With the Europa League final coming up on Wednesday, United would have loved a strong performance to build momentum.

Was this a bad performance from United? Absolutely not. Given the quality of their season to this point, there‘s an argument to suggest it was actually one of the better performances of the Ruben Amorim era, and it looked like United could have eked out a share of the spoils against a Chelsea side who had far more to play for here. Unfortunately, a lapse at the back and a continued lack of quality in attack cost the Red Devils here.

Wednesday‘s opponents, Tottenham Hotspur, also lost 2–0 to Aston Villa earlier in the evening, so neither side will be bursting with confidence ahead of Bilbao‘s all-or-nothing affair.

Nicolas Jackson‘s Absence Sorely Felt

George struggled in attack for Chelsea. / IMAGO/Pro Sports Images

Nicolas Jackson‘s frustrating red card last time out against Newcastle United brought his season to an abrupt end and, with usual deputies Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu both not fit, Chelsea were left without a natural striker for this one, and it showed.

Young Tyrique George, a winger by trade, was given the nod here. The youngster never looked comfortable but was starved of any sort of service, meaning he never stood a chance of forcing his way into this game.

George‘s first real involvement of note was on the hour mark when he was awarded a penalty under duress from Andre Onana, but a quick VAR check revealed the youngster had made the most of the incident and overruled the call—a sign of the struggles felt by Chelsea‘s academy star.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND GOSSIP