Manchester United dropped points in the race against Chelsea and others for Champions League football in a crazy clash against Bournemouth
05:00, 21 Mar 2026
Chelsea have been handed a big Champions League boost
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Chelsea have been handed a big Champions League boost(Image: (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP via Getty Images))
Chelsea can go within four points off Manchester United by beating Everton in the Premier League on Saturday. United kicked off game week 31 on Friday night against Bournemouth and had to settle for a 2-2 draw with two penalties and a red card arriving in a chaotic second half.
The latter was brandished to Harry Maguire for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity as he fouled Evanilson inside the penalty area. Eli Kroupi Junior scored the subsequent spot-kick to snatch a point for Bournemouth.
Bruno Fernandes had opened the scoring from 12 yards with United appeals for another penalty waved away by Stuart Atwell for a foul on Amad, only for Bournemouth to equalise less than 60 seconds later. VAR checked the incident but deemed the contact was not sufficient enough to give a foul.
A James Hill own goal soon after that put United back in front, but they were pegged back again in the red card and penalty drama.
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The stalemate moved third-placed United up to a tally of 55 points, seven above Chelsea, who are three places lower, but having played one less game. The deficit between the two could be reduced to four following the Saturday teatime clash for the Blues against Everton.
Either side of that trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool and Aston Villa, the two teams between United and Chelsea, are in action. The latter welcome West Ham United to Villa Park in search of their first league win since early February.
Arne Slot's side meanwhile, head to Brighton on Saturday lunchtime looking to build momentum from their Champions League last-16 win over Galatasaray. Liverpool will have to cope without Mohamed Salah and Alisson for that clash however, as both players have been ruled out due to injury.
While Liam Rosenior's side could close the gap on the top-five rivals above them, they could also head into the international break level on points with Brentford and only two clear of their weekend opponents if the worst-case scenario plays out.
Liam Rosenior speaks with Reece James
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Liam Rosenior will be unable to call on Reece James for Everton vs Chelsea because of injury
Injury problems could play a massive role in the race for Champions League qualification with Chelsea also facing some team selection problems due to fitness issues.
Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Filip Jorgensen have all recently suffered injuries with it currently unclear if any of the trio will be able to feature in an FA Cup quarter-final against Port Vale, even though that tie is just under two weeks away.
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The absence of James will arguably be the biggest blow for Chelsea with Rosenior's comments also far from promising.
He said on Monday: "We're going to look more after the international break. It's not serious, but there is something in his hamstring, and that's something that we will monitor after the international week."