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Journalism of Courage
Manchester United’s hopes of a Premier League top-four finish were ended after they were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium on Sunday.
Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Watford on Sunday took them third, five points clear of sixth-placed United, who failed to take the race for Champions League qualification to the final day, as they trail Tottenham Hotspur in fourth by four points with just one game left.
Looking for a first win in five in all competitions, United made a fast start, and took the lead in the eighth minute through Scott McTominay.
Already-relegated Huddersfield, who had managed just nine goals from open play prior to Sunday’s match, grew into the contest and almost levelled through Karlan Grant, before Paul Pogba headed against the crossbar three minutes before the break.
Alexis Sanchez, making his first United start since March 2, was replaced early in the second half, before Isaac Mbenza’s first-ever Premier League goal got the hosts level on the hour mark following an error from Luke Shaw.
Pogba again hit the crossbar late on as United looked for a winner, but Huddersfield held on for just their fifth Premier League point from the last 72 available, with United having won just two of their last 11 matches in all competitions.
“It is probably the right place for us, the Europa League,” United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said. “We weren’t good enough in the end. We are all disappointed we are not in the Champions League.
“We have been inconsistent throughout the season, in games as well. Today was the same. It is a fair reflection that we will finish sixth.”
United got into their stride and soon took the lead through McTominay, who netted his second goal for the club through the legs of Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.
Pogba’s header against the bar could have put United further in front, but it was Huddersfield who came out for the second half with added impetus, going close through Grant in the 52nd minute.
Shaw’s awful error in trying to cut out a long clearance from Lossl presented Mbenza with the chance to get off the mark in England, which he duly took, firing through the legs of David de Gea.
Huddersfield fans, already well resigned to their fate, were in fine voice in paying tribute to chairman Dean Hoyle, who will step down after agreeing to sell the club.
“We knew it was going to be our last home game for the chairman,” Huddersfield captain Christopher Schindler said.
“Maybe it’s too dramatic to say we wanted to give him something back but obviously we wanted to give him something to be proud of. Hopefully he remembers this day.”
Chelsea boost top-four chances with 3-0 win over Watford
Chelsea secured a top-four Premier League finish and qualification for next season’s Champions League after a 3-0 home win against Watford on Sunday.
Quickfire headers from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and David Luiz early in the second half put them in control and Argentine marksman Gonzalo Higuain added a third in the 75th minute.
However, Chelsea had to wait for Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at home to Brighton & Hove Albion long after the final whistle at Stamford Bridge to confirm they would finish in the top four.
The battle for the third and fourth spots behind runaway leaders Liverpool and Manchester City had become a comedy of errors in recent weeks with all the contenders dropping points with reckless abandon.
And it was fifth-placed Arsenal’s draw with Brighton that meant Chelsea would finish no lower than fourth — guaranteeing a return to Europe’s elite club competition.
With one game left Chelsea are third with 71 points, a point clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fourth and four ahead of Arsenal.
SECOND-HALF RALLY
It looked as though Chelsea were set to follow nine-man Tottenham’s slip-up in a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday and Manchester United’s earlier 1-1 draw at relegated Huddersfield as they struggled in a frenzied first half.
Watford had the better chances with Troy Deeney, Gerard Deulofeu and Jose Holebas all lively, but Chelsea, booed off at the break, came out flying in the second half.
Loftus-Cheek found the net in the 48th minute after a Hazard short corner and one-two with Pedro, the Belgian lifting the ball to the far post where the tall midfielder nodded it home.
Moments later Brazilian defender Luiz headed Chelsea’s second goal, straight from a Hazard corner, before the home side improved their goal difference with the third from Higuain via a Pedro assist.
Both teams have preoccupations away from the league, with Chelsea level at 1-1 as they prepare to face Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League semi-final, second leg on Thursday and Watford meeting Manchester City in the FA Cup final on May 18.
“The schedule is tough, but when you have fantastic players, more than just 11, we can rotate and have the same quality,” Luiz said. “We have that. It’s tough but it’s tough for everybody.”
Chelsea’s players and their families did a lap of honour after their last home league game of the season, with club captain Gary Cahill, who is leaving after 6-1/2 years at Stamford Bridge, leading his team mates out.
The former England defender won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, a League Cup, a Champions League and a Europa League trophy with the west London club but has fallen out of favour under coach Maurizio Sarri this season.
Arsenal top-four hopes all but over after Brighton draw
Arsenal will need an extraordinary turnaround on the final day of the Premier League season to finish in the top four after being held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Needing victory to give themselves a realistic chance of securing a Champions League spot, they led through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s early penalty at the Emirates only for Glenn Murray’s spot kick to drag Brighton level in a frantic second half.
The draw meant fifth-placed Arsenal ended the day four points behind Chelsea who had earlier beaten Watford to move third and three points behind stumbling Tottenham Hotspur.
While a win at Burnley and a loss for Tottenham at home to Everton would see the north London clubs finish level on points, Arsenal are eight worse off in terms of goal difference.
Arsenal have now managed to earn only one point from their last four league games — a run that has ultimately left them needing to win the Europa League to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
“We tried but we didn’t take our chance to be in the top four,” manager Unai Emery, whose side will take a 3-1 lead to Spanish club Valencia for their Europa League semi-final, second leg, next week told Sky Sports.
Despite their three-match losing sequence, Arsenal began the match with high hopes of catching Tottenham and Chelsea.
They were given the perfect start when referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot after Alireza Jahanbakhsh was adjudged to have impeded Nacho Monreal.
Aubameyang made no mistake with the penalty to notch up his 20th league goal of the season.
With Brighton already safe from relegation, thanks to Cardiff City’s defeat on Saturday, it should have been a relatively stress-free day for the Gunners.
But there was a nervousness about their play and Brighton grew into the game and caused several scares before halftime.
Brighton levelled in the 61st minute when the dangerous Solly March made a strong goalwards run and Granit Xhaka was panicked into conceding a penalty that Murray converted.
The striker has now scored 35 percent of Brighton’s Premier League goals since they were promoted in 2016-17.
Arsenal threw everything at Brighton in the closing stages but Brighton defended like tigers and could have taken the three points with several counter-attacks.
Aubameyang somehow fired wide for Arsenal while at the other end Pascal Gross should have scored for Brighton.
Arsenal’s players looked despondent at the final whistle and the crowd were silenced before breaking into cheers for injured Aaron Ramsey, who walked on to say goodbye before his move to Juventus at the end of the season.
Brighton have gone eight matches without a win and face title-chasing Manchester City next week, but have done just enough to book a third successive season with the elite.
“Our responsibility is to try and get a result in every game. It’s what we do, it’s our responsibility,” Brighton manager Chris Hughton said.
“We are lifted by today and we will want to do as well as we can against Manchester City next week.”
