Manchester United and Chelsea get Champions League places

Manchester United and Chelsea secured places in the Champions League with wins on the final day of the Premier League season.

Published : Jul 26, 2020 23:40 IST

Man United's Jesse Lingard celebrates after scoring his side's second goal against Leicester City.
Man United's Jesse Lingard celebrates after scoring his side's second goal against Leicester City.
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Man United's Jesse Lingard celebrates after scoring his side's second goal against Leicester City.

Manchester United and Chelsea secured places in the Champions League with wins on the final day of the Premier League season.

United won 2-0 at Leicester City on Sunday to finish third in the Premier League and clinch a place in next season's Champions League. While Chelsea ended in fourth spot after a 2-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

United booked its spot in Europe's elite club competition on the final day of the season at the expense of Leicester, which finished fifth behind fourth-placed Chelsea and will have to settle for a Europa League berth.

 

Manchester United finished on 66 points, ahead of Chelsea on goal difference and four points clear of Leicester, who missed several chances before they were undone late on by sloppy errors.

Bruno Fernandes fired United ahead with a 71st-minute penalty and substitute Jesse Lingard sealed the win deep into stoppage time after a bad mistake by Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Leicester dominated the opening half as Youri Tielemans went close with a clever first-time shot which trickled inches wide before Schmeichel kept out a Marcus Rashford volley on the stroke of halftime.

Jamie Vardy hit the top of the woodwork for Leicester on the hour from an audacious header with his back facing goal before the home side collapsed in the last 20 minutes, with defender Jonny Evans receiving a late red card for a rash tackle on Scott McTominay.

Mount, Giroud strike

The first-half goals from Mason Mount and Olivier Giroud secured a 2-0 home win over Wolves and with it a top-four finish.

Four minutes had been added to a nervy opening period when Marcos Alonso went down outside the Wolves area and Mount curled an exquisite free kick over the wall into the top left corner. Barely two minutes later Chelsea's France striker Giroud showed all his experience and poise when he latched on to Mount's pass, rounded goalkeeper Rui Patricio and held off Wolves captain Conor Coady to poke the ball home.

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Mason Mount in action during Chelsea's Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
 

Frank Lampard's Chelsea side needed a point to guarantee a Champions League spot in a three-way battle involving Manchester United and Leicester City and would have felt aggrieved had they missed out after being a top-four fixture since last October.

Spurs seals Europa League spot

In another match, Tottenham Hotspur secured a place in the Europa League next season as it closed out its Premier League campaign with a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

 

Harry Kane's sharp early strike gave Spurs the lead but Palace, desperate to avoid an eighth successive defeat, hit back to claim a deserved share of the spoils.

Jeffrey Schlupp was on hand to net the equaliser early in the second half when the visitor failed to clear a corner. With Palace already safe, despite its slump, it was all about Tottenham's bid to finish in sixth above Wolves and guarantee a Europa League spot.

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