Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is eyeing a spot in the Champions League next seasonChelsea manager Enzo Maresca is eyeing a spot in the Champions League next season
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is eyeing a spot in the Champions League next season | Getty Images
How Chelsea’s final 10 Premier League fixtures compare to their rivals for a Champions League spot
Chelsea’s hopes of reaching the Champions League next season were handed a major boost over the weekend as they regained a place in the top four with a 1-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday afternoon.
Marc Cucurella netted the only goal of the game as the Blues managed to find the net once, despite creating 20 shots with seven of those hitting the target. The victory came 24 hours after Nottingham Forest had beat Manchester City 1-0, as the Blues leapfrogged Pep Guardiola’s side into fourth.
The Premier League’s title fight and relegation battles look all-but decided in mid-March, but the race for the Champions League remains an exciting one. There are just five points between Chelsea in fourth and Fulham in 10th with 10 games remaining. Aston Villa, who are eighth and four points behind Chelsea have nine games as their clash with Liverpool was moved forward due to the Carabao Cup final.
English’s clubs performances in Europe this season are set to hand the Premier League a fifth spot in the Champions League for next season. From this point it would take a monumental collapse from every English team in Europe coupled with a remarkable upturn from Italian sides to deny Premier League teams a fifth spot.
Cucurella says Leicester surprised Chelsea
Sunday’s matchwinner revealed how the Blues had prepared for the against Leicester a certain way but the Foxes arrived at Stamford Bridge with a different set-up.
“It was difficult because we prepared for the game in a certain way and then Leicester came here and set up with a different approach,” he told the club’s website. “So we had to adjust and maybe that took us a little bit of time, because they had a lot of players behind the ball to make things difficult for us.
“We had to remain patient, not rush things and trust that what we had planned would eventually come good. In the second half we did that and managed to get the goal we needed. Then it was a case of defending well and being solid and I thought the entire team did that very well.”
Chelsea’s final 10 games compared to rivals
Chelsea: Arsenal (A), Spurs (H), Brentford (A), Ipswich (H), Fulham (A), Everton (H), Liverpool (H), Newcastle (A), Man Utd (H), Nottingham Forest (A).
Nottingham Forest: Ipswich (A), Man Utd (H), Aston Villa (A), Everton (H), Tottenham (A), Brentford (H), Crystal Palace (A), Leicester (H), West Ham (A), Chelsea (H).
Man City: Brighton (H), Leicester City (H), Man Utd (A), Crystal Palace (H), Everton (A), Aston Villa (H), Wolves (H) Southampton (A), Bournemouth (H), Fulham (A).
Newcastle: Brentford (H), Leicester City, (A), Man Utd (H), Crystal Palace (H), Aston Villa (A), Ipswich Town (H), Brighton & Hove Albion (A), Chelsea (H), Arsenal, (A) Everton (H).
Brighton: Man City (A), Aston Villa (H), Crystal Palace (A). Leicester City (H). Brentford (A). West Ham United (H), Newcastle United (H), Wolves (A), Liverpool (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A).
Aston Villa: Brighton (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Southampton (A), Newcastle United (H), Man City (A), Fulham (H), Bournemouth (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Man Utd (A).
Bournemouth: Brentford (H), Ipswich (H), West Ham (A), Fulham (H), Crystal Palace (A), Man Utd (H), Arsenal (A), Aston Villa (H), Fulham (A), and Leicester (H).
Fulham: Tottenham Hotspur (H), Arsenal (A), Liverpool (H), Bournemouth (A), Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Southampton (A), Aston Villa (A), Everton (H), Brentford (A), and Manchester City (H).