Manchester United secured Champions League football for next season with a 4-1 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
Casemiro headed the hosts in front, with Anthony Martial sweeping in Jadon Sancho’s pass from close range to double their advantage.
Bruno Fernandes added United’s third from the penalty spot after being fouled by Wesley Fofana.
And another Fofana error saw Marcus Rashford score a fourth before Joao Felix’s late consolation for the Blues, who suffered their eighth defeat in 10 games under Frank Lampard and their 16th overall in a desperate campaign.
The result meant United consigned old rivals Liverpool to Europa League football next season.
It was not all good news for the home side though as Brazilian winger Antony was taken off on a stretcher in tears after suffering a lower leg injury in an innocuous challenge with Trevoh Chalobah – with the FA Cup final against Manchester City less than two weeks away.
For Chelsea, their sorry season – their worst in almost two decades – cannot come to an end quickly enough, although their fans have at least retained their sense of humour as they sang “we’ve scored a goal” as they celebrated Felix’s effort.
- Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes speaking to Sky Sports: “[Getting the Champions League] is decent, it’s not perfect because we want more. For what we did this season it’s perfect. We get the trophy which was our goal after seeing we couldn’t get the Premier League. Now it’s about finishing the league well and going to FA Cup.”
- On the fans at Old Trafford this season: “They’ve been amazing for us. We’ve won many games at home. They’ve been creating a great atmosphere for us. They know how important they are for us. We just appreciate all the effort.”
- On reaching the Champions League and stopping Liverpool getting there: “We know it means a lot [to the fans]. For us it’s about getting our goals. We know we’d be happy also for Liverpool to not be there but for us it’s about getting the best for ourselves.”
- On playing Man City in the FA Cup final: “It’s about winning the trophy. We have to take the trophy away from someone. We want to win the FA Cup. We know it’s really important here. We know if we win it we stop the option for City getting the treble but for us it’s about getting another trophy.”
More to follow.
