Manchester United are on a roll and have secured their place in the Champions League after beating Chelsea 4-1

Author – Amrit Santlani

Manchester United secured their place in the Champions League for next season by beating Chelsea 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday. The win helped Erik ten Hag’s side overtake Newcastle and take third place into the final matchday.

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro opened the scoring in the sixth minute, before Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford put their names on the scoreboard. João Felix scored a consolation goal for Frank Lampard’s side. The only downside to the defeat was that United lost Antony to injury, and the Brazilian had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher.

Chelsea started the game on the front foot and had a glorious chance to open the scoring, but Mykhailo Mudryk failed to hit the target from six meters.

At the other end, Chelsea were punished for their negligence when Casemiro headed in Christian Eriksen’s free-kick to help United take the lead. Enzo Fernandes played a pass for Connor Gallagher to cut through the hosts’ defense, but the Englishman shot narrowly wide. Fernandes then cut through the Chelsea defense with a pass to Jadon Sancho; he squared the ball to Martial, who easily tapped it into the empty net in first-half stoppage time.

At the start of the second half, Fernandes elbowed Wesley Fofana, before a poor challenge from the Englishman caused the Portuguese to go down in the box, and the captain stepped up to take the penalty and seal the three points for his team. Another poor pass from Fofana led to Rashford firing the ball into the net and adding more gloss to the emphatic scoreline.

Felix then cashed in for his team, giving the traveling fans something to celebrate after his individual run and goal.

It was a good day for United’s Brazilian contingent: Casemiro shone brightly, Fred also put in a good performance and Antony was also involved before being taken off on a stretcher.

In other results on Thursday, Premier League champions Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton. Phil Foden opened the scoring before Julio Enciso’s goal secured a draw at the Amex Stadium.