Pedro Neto fired a spectacular winner in stoppage time as Chelsea’s late show secured a 2-1 win over west-London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Substitute Tyrique George grabbed an equaliser seven minutes from time to cancel out Alex Iwobi’s 20th-minute strike.
Then Neto’s half-volley clinched a victory that took the Blues above Forest on goal difference in the battle to secure Champions League football.
The result will alleviate some of the pressure on under-fire manager Enzo Maresca.
Raul Jimenez dominating Chelsea’s Levi Colwill in the air was a common theme early on as Fulham mounted pressure.
Then Chelsea skipper Reece James was caught in possession by Fulham’s press and, after Ryan Sessegnon drove forward, his pass to Iwobi saw the Nigeria international use his weaker left foot to find the bottom left corner from the edge of the area.
Chelsea’s lack of confidence was clear to see but they did create a handful of chances which a striker in a better form than nine-goal man Nicolas Jackson could have converted.
The first came a minute before Iwobi’s strike when Noni Madueke’s ball across the box was touched by Jackson into the hands of Bernd Leno. The Senegal striker was then caught on his heels in the area despite an inch-perfect delivery from Neto.
Maresca turned to the bench at half-time with Jadon Sancho coming on for Madueke but the changes initially failed to spark his side into life.
A speculative effort by another substitute Malo Gusto was all the Blues truly had to show for themselves by the hour mark.
Fulham on the other hand remained strong and resolute. The physical prowess of Sander Berge and Calvin Bassey snapped up loose balls against Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer as they gave their rivals little or no space to attack in behind their deep block.
Manager Marco Silva brought on Harry Wilson late on to inject energy but it was 19-year-old Chelsea substitute George who made the impact.
The teenager connected with a half-volley on the edge of the area to open his league account in the 83rd minute to get Chelsea back into the match.
Chelsea had momentum now. They needed something special though to snatch a comeback win. It came three minutes into added time from big money summer signing Neto, who spun on the half turn and leathered in a winner to send the away end into raptures.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner hailed his players for writing a new chapter in Crystal Palace’s history following their 1-0 FA Cup triumph over Manchester City.Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute goal and Dean Henderson’s penalty save paved the way for Palace to land their first major trophy and a spot in the Europa League next season.“We said before the game that we wanted t...
Pep Guardiola was unhappy about Dean Henderson’s time wasting in Manchester City’s FA Cup final defeat – but the Spaniard refused to be drawn on whether the Crystal Palace goalkeeper should have been sent off.An angry Guardiola exchanged words with Henderson after the final whistle following City’s 1-0 loss at Wembley, which leaves them without a trophy this season and stil...
Airdrieonians secured their place in the Scottish Championship for another season as they beat Cove Rangers 2-1 on aggregate in their play-off final after a 0-0 second-leg draw at Excelsior Stadium.The early stages saw Lewis McGrattan bring a good save out of Cove goalkeeper Nicholas Suman, before counterpart Cade Melrose did well at the other end as he blocked Adam Emslie’s shot with his fo...
Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute goal fired Crystal Palace to the first major trophy in their history as they secured a 1-0 FA Cup victory over Manchester City at Wembley.Eze put Palace ahead with their first attack of the match before an inspired Dean Henderson saved Omar Marmoush’s penalty.However, Henderson could count himself fortunate to still be on the pitch after he earlier appeared t...
East Kilbride won promotion to Scottish League Two for the first time and sent Bonnyrigg Rose down after a 0-0 draw at New Dundas Park saw the visitors triumph 3-1 on aggregate.Bonnyrigg goalkeeper Paddy Martin did well to keep out a Joao Balde strike in the 24th minute, before Aaron Arnott fired over at the other end.Kerr Young was unable to make the most of two chances for the hosts midway throu...
Carlo Ancelotti's future as the new Brazil manager is in serious danger as the five-time World Cup winners have been warned they could be expelled from the 2026 competition.Ancelotti had been announced as the new Brazil manager for the upcoming World Cup campaign, joining after the season with Real Madrid comes to an end.Since then, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) risks being barred fro...
Manchester United have already decided they will not sack Ruben Amorim if they lose the Europa League final.The Red Devils face Tottenham in Bilbao on Wednesday night with a chance for silverware and Champions League football next season on offer to salvage their dire campaign.Amorim took over in November and has overseen United's lowest finish in 50 years, but his future appears to be safe for th...
WHAT HAPPENED?Muller featured in Bayern's convincing 4-0 win over Hoffenheim at the PreZero Arena, marking the end of his domestic league journey with the Bavarian giants. Despite stepping away from the German top-flight, Muller has yet to announce where his career will head next. At 35, the attacking midfielder remains committed to continuing his playing days, but he emphasised that he's in no ru...
Muller future 'still up in the air' as Bayern career endsThomas Muller remains undecided on his future after playing his final Bayern Munich game amid several MLS links.Sane 'doesn't want to accept' Bayern's €10m salary offerBayern Munich chief Max Eberl says Leroy Sane "doesn't want to accept" their contract offer as fears grow over a summer exit.Newcastle show interest in Bayern star SaneN...
Jim Goodwin paid tribute to his dogged Dundee United side following the 2-1 comeback win over Aberdeen which clinched fourth place and a European spot.The Terrors, who returned to the William Hill Premiership this season, had lost their four post-split matches going into the final fixture against the Dons, who were two points ahead and looking in fine fettle when Danish attacker Jeppe Okkels score...
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- 2 Man Utd are losing the feeling of being a massive club – Ruben Amorim
- 3 We will see – no Unai Emery assurances over future of tearful Emiliano Martinez
- 4 Leyton Orient book Wembley date by beating Stockport on penalties
- 5 Liverpool cleared to complete signing
- 6 Brendan Rodgers hits out at ‘needless challenge’ on Reo Hatate
- 7 Mat Sadler hails Walsall’s ‘fighting performance’ after win in play-off first leg
- 8 David Gray thanks Hibernian board for showing faith in him after securing third
- 9 Airdrieonians earn first-leg lead over Cove in play-offs
- 10 Flick lauds Yamal, as Barca nears title