MARC CUCURELLA does not drink beer but he was the toast of Chelsea last night for salvaging their Champions League dreams.
The Spanish defender produced a dazzling headed finish to a spectacular move to fire Enzo Maresca’s team back into the top five.
Chelsea’s ambitions of getting back among the big boys in Europe is now back in their own hands after an almighty wobble.
They were struggling to break down Manchester United and with top five rivals Aston Villa winning earlier, had dropped out of the reckoning.
But then the curly-topped full-back flew through the air, bulged the net and triggered a rousing chorus of the song the fans sing in his name about his massive hair and that he drinks Estrella – the famous lager from his homeland.
Cucurella actually prefers a nice glass of wine but nobody was listening as Stamford Bridge went wild following his goal 18 minutes from time.
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Chelsea are now up to fourth and if they win at Nottingham Forest next Sunday they will be back in the Champions League after a two season absence.
And his goal was of fine vintage if only for the superb turn and floated cross performed by skipper Reece James for the assist.
The full-back spun on a sixpence and chipped a ball from the edge of the box with Cucurella’s trailing barnet blowing in the wind before he beat Manchester United keeper Andre Onana with a bullet header.
It was the perfect rebound from last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle which seemed to have inflicted serious damage on Chelsea’s hopes.
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Losing the game and striker Nicolas Jackson to a three-game ban for his sending off meant boss Enzo Maresca had to send rookie striker Tyrique George into battle for his first Premier League start on a huge night for the club.
It should have been a far more comfortable night for the home side.
Noni Madueke missed a golden chance to volley Chelsea ahead in only the fourth minute from Cole Palmer’s cross.
And James is such a servant for his boyhood club. Coming back from a run of hamstring injuries and surgery he has provided that cool head when needed most.
He was also on hand to smack the outside of the post with a ferocious shot in the first half.
Palmer came close to scoring with a cheeky curling shot from the edge of the area that also brought a diving save from Onana.
Boss Maresca is convinced his team has made progress this season even though they made hard work of this victory before finally showing up late in the second half.
For United boss Ruben Amorim it is now eight Premier League games without a win despite a marginally improved performance from last weekend’s abject surrender at home to lowly West Ham.
Next week’s all-Premier League Europa League final against Tottenham will grant one of them access to the Champions League alongside the greats of Europe.
It’s come to something when it’s a positive to only lose 1-0 while your next opponents lose 2-0 as Spurs did at Villa earlier in the evening.
When it comes to it, neither Chelsea, United nor Tottenham possess much to suggest any of them belong at the top level.
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United had a goal ruled out for a narrow offside against Harry Maguire and for the first 20 minutes of the game looked as if they had responded to criticism by boss Amorim over their poor attitude.
Former Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount was guilty of missing a glaring chance to score against his old club before being subbed to a chorus of boos.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
