IMAGE: Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson in action with Everton’s Beto. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters
Chelsea climbed back into contention for next season’s Champions League with a 1-0 home win over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a fine first-half strike by Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegal striker, fed by Enzo Fernandez, drove low into the bottom corner past a diving Jordan Pickford in the 27th minute for his first goal in four months.
The result lifted Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea to fourth in the table on 60 points, one point behind Manchester City who are in FA Cup action this weekend. Everton are 13th.
The home side should have had more but were thwarted by a stubborn defence and Pickford, who kept out a series of shots, notably from Noni Madueke.
Cole Palmer buzzed round the Everton box but his three-month goal drought continued as once again Chelsea failed to capitalise on a good start.
IMAGE: Everton’s Youssef Chermiti in action with Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella. Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters
The home side suffered a tense final 15 minutes with Everton, sensing their nerves, forging forward.
Maresca, serving a one-match ban, watched anxiously from the press box, occasionally shouting towards the pitch and dugout as the clock ticked down.
Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez who had turned aside a good chance from Beto in the 63rd minute held on to a shot from Idrissa Gueye minutes later.
And he pulled off a fingertip save in the 88th minute to deny Dwight McNeil and keep his side in front.The Premier League’s top five qualify for the Champions League.
Cunha dismantles Leicester in sixth successive win for Wolves
IMAGE: Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha in action with Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss. Photograph: Chris Radburn/Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers extended their remarkable winning run to six Premier League games as Matheus Cunha scored one goal and set up two others in a comfortable 3-0 win over already-relegated Leicester City at Molineux.
Wolves’ superb form has propelled them away from the drop zone and up to 13th with 41 points from 34 games, while Leicester are second from bottom with 18 points.
Cunha’s side-footed finish after 33 minutes gave the hosts a deserved lead, before Jorgen Strand Larsen and Rodrigo Gomes added almost identical goals in the second half, both put on a plate by the brilliant Brazilian.
Leicester’s Jamie Vardy missed a penalty – in the week the former England striker announced he was leaving the club at the end of the campaign after 13 seasons – as the hapless visitors slipped to a 17th loss in their last 19 league matches.
There has been much speculation about Brazil international Cunha’s future after this season, but he played down any talk of an exit following his match-winning display.
Leicester looked like a side defeated before kick-off, with little energy and verve, and were picked apart by the hosts.
The home side went ahead when Ait-Nouri’s low cross was converted from close range by Cunha, who steered the ball between the legs of Leicester defender Conor Coady.
Strand Larsen’s blushes for firing over from point-blank range were saved by the offside flag, but he did double Wolves’ advantage in the 55th.
Cunha played a delightful pass to split the visitors’ centre-backs and allowed Strand Larsen to score his 13th league goal of the season.
Leicester were given a lifeline with a penalty when goalkeeper Jose Sa was adjudged to have brought down Vardy, who made sure there was contact as he leant into the challenge.
But Sa saved Vardy’s spot-kick, diving low to his right to deny the striker a 199th Leicester goal.
The third goal for the hosts after 85 minutes was almost identical to the second as Cunha picked up the ball on the left and slipped a pass between the Leicester defenders for Gomes to rifle low into the bottom corner.
Ipswich relegated from Premier League after 3-0 loss at Newcastle
IMAGE: Newcastle United’s William Osula scores their third goal. Photograph: Lee Smith/Reuters
Ipswich Town were relegated from the Premier League following a 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United, with the visitors reduced to 10 men after Ben Johnson was sent off for picking up two yellow cards in the first half.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich have 21 points, 15 behind West Ham United with four games left, and join already-relegated Leicester City and bottom side Southampton in returning to the Championship after one season in the top flight.
Newcastle’s win moved them up to third place on 62, five behind second-placed Arsenal and one ahead of Manchester City in fourth in the race for Champions League football next season.
Needing a win to have any mathematical chance of staying up, the scale of the task facing Ipswich was quickly apparent as Newcastle attacked in waves and had a goal disallowed in the 22nd minute when Bruno Guimaraes obstructed keeper Alex Palmer.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Johnson was booked for diving in the 30th minute and sent off seven minutes later as he picked up his second yellow card for pulling back Alexander Isak.
As the break approached, Sandro Tonali fired a shot off the woodwork before Newcastle finally took the lead in first-half stoppage time, Isak scoring from the spot after Julio Enciso was penalised for pulling down Jacob Murphy.
With Newcastle raining crosses and set-pieces into the box, Dan Burn netted the second with a header 11 minutes after the break, climbing highest to steer the ball home from close range.
By now the 10-man Tractor Boys were hanging on grimly but there was no respite as Newcastle brought Anthony Gordon, Callum Wilson and William Osula off the bench.
Osula netted a towering header from a corner two minutes after coming on to consign Ipswich to the drop.
Town defender Luke Woolfenden said a lack of concentration was partially to blame for his side’s relegation after they had jumped from League One to the Premier League in two seasons.
