London, England—Chelsea don show wetin dem fit do as dem defeat Manchester United 1-0 for Stamford Bridge on Friday, May 16, 2025. Dis win dey give Chelsea glimmer of hope for Champions League qualification as dem now sit for fourth place for Premier League table.
Na defender Marc Cucurella wey lift Chelsea with header from Reece James corner for 71st minute wey secure di three points for di Blues. Di match no get plenty scoring chances, but Chelsea manage to find di net when e matter most, for wan game wey dem need points bad to stay for di Champions League race.
For first half, Chelsea nearly open di scoring when Reece James volley hit di post. United too get one goal from Harry Maguire but na VAR check show say e dey offside. Both teams struggle for rhythm, with plenty turnovers and lack of quality chances.
Man Utd don dey on bad form as dem don go eight league matches without win, di worse run since 1989-90 season. Di manager, Ruben Amorim, don admit say di lack of urgency and energy don dey hurt di squad. “We need to be more aggressive,” he talk. “It’s frustrating because we are so near di goals but we suffer avoidable ones.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca praise di effort of him team, despite di poor quality of di game. “Dis time we dey play for result, no matter how di performance be. Di points be wetin matter,” he talk after di match. “Our goal now na to stay inside di Champions League spots.”
Di result means Chelsea dey fight with Aston Villa and Liverpool for di fifth spot as dem head towards di final days of di season. Nottingham Forest, wey dey 7th, also dey fight to maintain dem Champions League hope, but dem need to win dey final game against West Ham on Sunday or dem go find dem out of di race.
Di victory no só long for di Chelsea fans as dem don watch di team struggle through di season, but dis match be sign say dem fit still achieve wetin dem dey target. With one match left, Chelsea don dey in control of dem own fate.
If Chelsea win dia next match against Nottingham Forest, dem go surely qualify for di Champions League next season. Dis matter dey more tighter as di pressure don dey mount on United ahead of dem Europa League final next Wednesday against Tottenham.
At full-time, di Stamford Bridge crowd show dem appreciation as Chelsea players celebrate a hard-fought victory. But di outcome no dey good for United wey still dey look for answers to wetin don dey wrong for di season so far.
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