Chelsea 1-0 Man United: Marc Cucurella header clinches huge win in Champions League race | OneFootball

Chelsea's Champions League qualification hopes are in their hands after edging past Manchester United 1-0 on Friday night.

In a cagey and largely lacklustre affair under the lights at Stamford Bridge, it was Marc Cucurella who was quite literally head and shoulders above the rest to ensure the Blues remained in the top four in the Premier League and in control of their fate on the final day.

With much to play for, the Pensioners pushed from the off for an early breakthrough and could - and perhaps should - have had it within the first five minutes. A masked Moises Caicedo marauded through the midfield, setting Cole Palmer on his way whom subsequently delivered a lovely weighted cross into Noni Madueke. The tricky winger could however only blaze his first-time effort over the woodwork from point blank range.

As opposed to putting their foot on the gas, the hosts pulled off and were almost made to pay for their alarmingly lax and pedestrian attitude. Bruno Fernandes whipped a ball into the unlikely outlet in the area, Harry Maguire, who steered past Robert Sanchez with a finish you'd be hard-pressed to find from a striker in a blue. Chelsea's blushes were only spared by a VAR check.

The Stamford Bridge faithful were making their displeasure known about the team's turgid recycling of possession, in between a chorus of 'Chelsea reject' being harmonised in the direction of former blue Mason Mount. That perhaps prompted captain Reece James to take matters into his own hands - firing a thunderous volley from outside the area to be denied only by the outside of the left post.

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Chelsea continued to probe patiently - perhaps to a fault - and thought they'd got their break when Enzo Fernandez's ferocious strike cannoned off the outstretched hand of Rasmus Hojlund inside the Manchester United area. Yet referee Chris Kavanagh on the advice of VAR quickly waved away the protests, adjudging the Dane to have been in too close proximity for it to be a penalty.

Fernandes went into the book for leaving some studs on Caicedo's shin, as the game became partly scrappy but mostly sloppy from both sides. There was a distinct lack of quality on show in a barren spell before the mercy of the second half whistle, save for the occasional endeavour from Pedro Neto to beat his man and then fluff his lines on the delivery.

On the cusp of half-time Andre Onana had to be at full-stretch to parry a deflected Palmer strike away from the top corner. It fell into the path of Fernandez, who could only scoop over with the goal gaping. The Argentine was however offside, and therefore has to be given some benefit of the doubt.

The interval was a blessing for spectators, and Enzo Maresca had a huge job on his hands to get his men motivated. News filtering through from Villa Park that Unai Emery's side were 2-0 to the good against Spurs only furthered the urgency of that, with the live table showing Chelsea slipping out of the top four and destiny slipping from their grasp.

James could only fire a free-kick from a decent position into the red wall not long after the resumption, and Mount almost came back to haunt his former employers if not for his shanking of the ball wide when the chance presented itself after good work from the lively Amad Diallo.

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Looking devoid of ideas or any creativity, it looked like Chelsea had been thrown a lifeline when a quiet on the evening Tyrique George nipped in ahead of Onana, with the Man United stopper cleaning him out. But replays showed a hand got to the ball first, and the winger falling to the floor far too easily. It is hard to argue with the decision to award a penalty being overturned, albeit the Blues have seen similar go against them like Liam Delap earlier in the season.

In desperate need of a spark, cometh the hour, cometh the man. No sooner had Manchester United's number 7 left the pitch did Chelsea's captain James receive the ball on the spin and curl a picture perfect cross on a dime, with the slight Spaniard Marc Cucurella rising highest to head home with twenty minutes to go.

The Blues really should have been home and hosed no more than a minute or so later, with Madueke conspiring to get it all wrong and slicing wider after Palmer slid him in cutely. Stamford Bridge continued to roar as the Red Devils did what they could to withstand an onslaught, with Portuguese Neto next to have a go - albeit easily swallowed up by Onana.

A flicker of spirit from the visitors reminded the hosts of the perils of a slender lead - Amad cutting inside and firing low and hard at Sanchez's near post, with the former Brighton goalkeeper doing well to get down quickly and get a strong hand to it.

Despite the palpable tension following the addition of seven added minutes, the game petered out into a dull and stop-start conclusion befitting of the occasion. United youngster Ayden Heaven was lucky not to see red for a late hack on substitute Malo Gusto, and that bought the Blues the time they needed to sail to a vital three points.