Vital Cucurella goal keeps Blues on course for place in Champions League

THIS one is going right to the wire, but Chelsea have got their Champions League fate back in their own hands after a topsy-turvy night at Stamford Bridge.

- BY JOHN CROSS

Marc Cucurella was the unlikely hero with a 71st-minute winner to push Chelsea back up to fourth and to leave European qualification on a knife edge.

It was Cucurella's fifth goal of the season and yet this could be his most precious of all with a prize of playing on Europe’s biggest stage at stake.

They now have to go to Nottingham Forest on the final day knowing that victory will put them in next season's Champions League.

It was a rollercoaster because Chelsea do look like a bag of nerves and struggled to break down Manchester United's stubborn resistance.

United of course still have the Europa League final and a passport into the Champions League if they can beat Tottenham in Bilbao in five days time.

This was hardly great preparation for United because it is now eight Premier League games without a win for Ruben Amorim’s men.