If Chelsea are to qualify for Champions League football, then Marc Cucurella’s second-half header against Manchester United on Friday evening could well be the Blues’ most important goal of the season.
A big statement? Perhaps, but one that seems true in the aftermath of a crucial victory at Stamford Bridge.
A moment of magic from Reece James saw the Chelsea captain leave Alejandro Garnacho for dead, before delivering an inch-perfect delivery to Cucurella, who made no mistake in front of the Matthew Harding Stand. As United came out of their shell a bit more trying to level the game late on, Chelsea broke and had a glorious opportunity to make it two.
Cole Palmer was the man on the ball around the halfway line and he played a pass for Malo Gusto, fresh after coming on in the second-half, to run onto. However, it looked as if he ran out of gas and the Frenchman hit the deck, albeit under pressure. There were a few small groans asking for a foul, but never serious ones.
It didn’t matter, ultimately, but his teammates Wesley Fofana and Christopher Nkunku could not turn down an opportunity to mock Gusto. The French duo, who were both absent through injury, came onto the pitch at full-time and were pictured imitating Gusto’s rather slow fall to the floor. It was all smiles, though, and it looked as if Gusto took it well at least.
While United are 16th in the Premier League table, it is certainly not a simple task to beat them. Just ask Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, who have all dropped points against the Red Devils this season. Enzo Maresca knew this and that made him even more delighted.
“It’s very important, for sure,” Maresca responded when asked about the significance of going into the final fixture of the season with Chelsea’s destiny in their own hands. “But the reason why I was so happy at the end is because United beat [Manchester] City away, drew with City at home, drew with Liverpool, drew with Arsenal.
“So they know how to play against a big team. So I expected a very tough game. The reason why I was happy was especially because we beat a team that against Arsenal, Liverpool, City, it was difficult to beat them.”
Chelsea will go into next weekend’s final round of fixtures in the top five and will wait to see how Nottingham Forest fare on Sunday afternoon as they make the trip to West Ham United.
