Chelsea’s hopes of securing a spot in next season’s Champions League suffered a blow with a lackluster 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday, while Fulham climbed into the race for a European place with a 2-0 win over Tottenham.
Mikel Merino’s header in the 20th minute proved to be the only goal of a dull encounter at the Emirates, lifting Arsenal to second place and reducing their gap to Liverpool, the runaway leaders, to 12 points.
Chelsea, missing the influential Cole Palmer due to illness, were unable to provide any significant threat to Arsenal, surrendering meekly and seeing their top-four aspirations take a serious hit. The Blues remain in fourth for now, but with five teams—ranging from fifth-placed Manchester City to ninth-placed Aston Villa—within four points, their position is far from secure.
Arsenal, struggling for goals since Kai Havertz’s season-ending injury forced Merino into a makeshift centre-forward role, were clinical when it mattered. The Spanish midfielder met Martin Ødegaard’s corner with a looping header into the far post, putting Arsenal ahead.
Chelsea had a brief moment of hope when David Raya fumbled Marc Cucurella’s shot, but the ball trickled wide. At the other end, Chelsea’s goalkeeper Robert Sanchez pulled off a crucial save to deny Merino a second goal, but the game slowly fizzled out, with Chelsea offering little in attack. The defeat will likely intensify criticism of Enzo Maresca’s tactical approach among the Chelsea fanbase.
Spurs’ European hangover
Tottenham, fresh off a midweek victory over AZ Alkmaar that secured their place in the Europa League quarter-finals, suffered another setback in the Premier League at Craven Cottage. Fulham, propelled by the inspired play of Marco Silva’s team, won 2-0 to move into eighth place, just four points behind the top four and three outside the top five. A top-five finish now looks within reach, with the strong performances of English teams in European competitions boosting the chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
Tottenham, however, continue to struggle with the demands of midweek European fixtures. Under Ange Postecoglou, Spurs have won just three of their 10 league games following Thursday night Europa League matches.
Fulham were the superior side throughout, but had to wait until the 78th minute to break the deadlock. Rodrigo Muniz scored from an Andreas Pereira pass, and Ryan Sessegnon sealed the win with a brilliant second goal against his former club.
Meanwhile, Manchester United will look to maintain their push for European football when they face lowly Leicester later on Sunday.
AFP
