Chelsea strengthened their Champions League qualification hopes with a 1-0 win over Leicester, thanks to a stunning strike from Marc Cucurella.
Cucurella’s goal in the second half at Stamford Bridge lifted Chelsea above Manchester City into fourth place in the Premier League.
The Blues are now two points clear of City in the race for a top-four finish, which secures a spot in the Champions League.
This was only Chelsea’s fourth win in their last 12 league games, as they responded to manager Enzo Maresca’s challenge to secure victory in all their remaining home matches.
Maresca believes this should be enough to secure Champions League football, but Chelsea will need to improve on their shaky performance against second-bottom Leicester.
Cole Palmer missed a penalty for Chelsea and was later substituted, making it seven league games without a goal or assist amid criticism of the England forward’s frustrated body language.
Maresca left Leicester at the end of last season after leading them to promotion and the Foxes look destined to return to the Championship without him.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side have lost five successive league games and sit six points from safety.
Chelsea legends Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Dennis Wise, Kerry Dixon and Ron Harris were on the pitch before kick-off to celebrate the club’s 120th anniversary.
This was far from a highlight moment in Chelsea’s illustrious history however.
Victor Kristiansen’s clumsy challenge pole-axed Jadon Sancho, earning Chelsea a first half spot-kick.
Usually such a ruthless penalty taker, Palmer seized the ball as he looked to end his drought, only for Mads Hermansen to deny him with a superb save.
It was the first penalty miss of Palmer’s career, and Leicester nearly made him pay right away.
Chelsea’s error-prone goalkeeper, Robert Sanchez, completely missed a cross from James Justin, and Tosin Adarabioyo’s misjudged header hit the woodwork.
However, Chelsea took the lead in stunning fashion on the hour mark, with Spanish defender Marc Cucurella firing a powerful shot into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
